Very sad to hear of the death of Spencer Wiggins at the age of 81. Spencer was one of very best deep soul singers and made a huge impression whenever I saw him. He was a gentle man but commanded the stage like few others can do. Born in Memphis he lived in the same neighbourhood as James Carr and Bobby Bland. He formed a gospel grouo with his brother Percy and sister Maxine before joining an R and B group, the Four Stars, with Percy and David Porter. Discovered by Quinton Claunch, Spencer recorded a string of excellent singles for Goldwax, including 'Lover's Crime', (on the Bandstand USA label), 'Old Friend', 'Up Tight Good Woman', 'Lonely Man', 'That's How Much I Love You', 'Soul City USA' and 'He's Too Old'. When Goldwax folded in 1969 he went on to record a couple of singles for Fame, including the upbeat 'Double Lovin'. Some of his later material was picked up on the Northern soul scene, including 'Let's Talk It Over'. Back in the 80s there was a dearth of Spencer Wiggins material available in the UK until the release of the Japanese 'Soul City USA' compilation in 1987, a copy of which I picked up on my first New Orleans trip. But it looked like we would never get to see him perform live. Graziano tried to get him to performa at Porretta in 1999 but was told that he only sings gospel and not anything secular. By this time he had been running a Baptist church in Florida for many years.Things were to change ten years later. Brother Percy began singing with the Bo-Kays, including at the 2008 Ponderosa Stomp, and miraculously Spencer agreed to go to Porretta with his brother and sing his old material. He went down a storm. I wrote: '
It was the turn of Percy's brother, Spencer Wiggins, to show us that 40 or more years after his amazing Goldwax recordings he still has the voice and charisma to match just about everyone who has ever recorded in the southern soul field, even label mate James Carr. His dramatic version of 'Uptight Good Woman', with numerous false endings, was stupendous, as was 'Old Friend' and several other Goldwax tracks, and he stayed true to his religious principles by finishing with a couple of gospel numbers. Spencer was worth the admission price alone - an absolute star. I included this show in my top 30 'spine tingling' moments, published on November 28, 2020. The brothers returned to Porretta two years later and Spencer was equally effective. This time I wrote : '
Next on was the great Spencer Wiggins, Goldwax recording great and the star of Porretta 2009, who oozed soul as he performed 'Lonely Man', 'That's How Much I Love You', 'Love Attack' and a sensational version of 'Uptight Good Woman' who umpteen dramatic false endings. His vocal range is amazing, with deep growling soul suddenly soaring into brilliant falsetto. He was joined on stage by brother Percy and together they did excellent versions of Sam and Dave's 'When Something Is Wrong With My Baby' and 'Hold On I'm Coming'. Great stuff.'
In 2013 they appeared at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans and returned to Porretta in 2018 where Spencer looked decidedly frail. In between they made what must have been one of the most unexpected trips of their career - the UK, where they appeared at the 100 Club together, as well as I think the Hole in Wall in Manchester and at least one other location. It was a great show - not dynamic as Spencer was already showing his age, but proving that you can hold an audience just with the brilliance of vocals. Here was what I wrote on that occasion.
'After a break it was the turn of older brother Spencer Wiggins to take the stage. Wearing a broad check suit and looking well, his face was sombre and unsmiling - not once did he even hint at a grin. His voice, though, was magical as he tackled some of his wonderful Goldwax sides recorded under the guidance of Quinton Claunch. The enigmatic 'Lonely Man' was followed by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham's 'Up Tight Good Woman'. At Porretta, where Spencer has performed on a couple of occasions, along with his brother, he has been known to climax the song with up to ten false endings - 'Downright, Uptight Good Woman'. This time he contented himself with just five, but the effect was still sensational. Next up was the B side of his first recording, the upbeat 'What Do You Think About My Baby', which he followed with one of his most intense and powerful soul ballads, 'Old Friend'. The serious face and the concentration he focused on the song reminded me of the performance by his label mate James Carr at Blackheath back in the nineties. Just mesmerising. He followed with another song about age - 'He's Too Old', but upped the tempo with his next song, 'The Kind Of Woman's Who's Got No Heart'. Spencer finished off his solo set with B B King's 'Sweet Sixteen' and an excellent version of 'The Breaking Point', a Tyrone Davis influenced song he recorded for Fame. Spencer was then joined on stage by brother Percy as the band left them to sing James Carr's 'Dark End Of The Street' to a backing track. Another spine tingling moment I thought as their voices harmonised perfectly. Percy said he was glad to be here in the UK for a fourth time (having appeared at Northern soul festivals in the past). Spencer said that he was just glad to be here at all. Finally, the band returned to the stage and the pair sang 'Double Lovin', a song which Spencer recorded for Fame in 1970 and which was used in a Citi Bank TV commercial. That was it, but it was a fine end to a double set which reached the heights at times and which was much appreciated by the fair sized audience. RIP Spencer - you will me missed.
Top photo of me with Percy and Spencer was taken at Porretta in 2009. Middle picture is at Porretta 2011. The one below is at the Ponderosa Stomp in 2013.
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