One of the more curious stories in rock and roll history is that of The Shaggs. Formed in 1968 in Fremont, New Hampshire, the all girl band released one record entitled “The Philosophy Of The World” in 1969. Only 1,000 copies were originally printed, and the record company that pressed the albums cheated them out of all of their money as well as making off with 900 of the records to boot.
Theirs is a music that defies description. To hear The Shaggs is to be stunned, disgusted, thrilled and confused, often at the same time. Rock critic and music scene-ster Cub Koda described it best when he said "There's an innocence to these songs and their performances that's both charming and unsettling. Hacked-at drumbeats, whacked-around chords, songs that seem to have little or no meter to them … being played on out-of-tune, pawn-shop-quality guitars all converge, creating dissonance and beauty, chaos and tranquility, causing any listener coming to this music to rearrange any pre-existing notions about the relationships between talent, originality, and ability. There is no album you might own that sounds remotely like this one."
The Shaggs were initially composed of three sisters, Dot, Betty and Helen Wiggin. A fourth sister, Rachel would join later. They were thrust into rock and roll by their domineering father, who was convinced by his mother that she had a vision in which the girls became iconic pop stars.
Their father died of a heart attack in 1975, and The Shaggs disbanded soon after. It was what happened afterward where things got even weirder. In 1980, the album was re-issued by Rounder Records and “Rolling Stone” hailed it as their “Comeback Of The Year”. Rock Critic Lester Bangs called it “A landmark in rock and roll history” , when writing for The Village Voice. Their music has been praised by everyone from Frank Zappa (who told a Norwegian newspaper they were better than The Beatles) to Kurt Cobain who declared them as “The godmothers of the DIY movement”.
Now a stage musical about their career is taking off-Broadway by storm. Also called “The Philosophy Of The World”, it made it's New York premiere last Thursday at Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater at 416 West 42nd street. The LP has also been re-released in tandem with the musical on a private label sold exclusively through the stage production. It can be bought three different ways. At performances of the musical , online at www.TicketCentral.com or by calling (212) 564-1235 x3152. CDs are $16 each. In addition to the original liner notes from 1969, the booklet also features new liner notes written by Joy Gregory, book writer and co-lyricist for the musical