Spencer Wiggins

Spencer Wiggins possessed a remarkable vocal talent marked by deep emotional intensity, producing several outstanding Southern soul recordings in the middle of the 1960s without achieving the commercial success his abilities warranted, although enthusiasts of deep soul in Britain and Japan would later celebrate him as an overlooked master of the style. Born in 1942 in Memphis, Tennessee, Wiggins grew up in a household where music held significant importance for his parents. During his high school years, he established the gospel ensemble known as the New Rival Gospel Singers, which included his siblings Percy Wiggins and Maxine Wiggins. Additionally, both Spencer and Percy participated in the glee club at Memphis's Booker T. Washington High School, where fellow students included Booker T. Jones, Maurice White, and William Bell, and where the faculty featured the prominent disc jockey and talent scout Nat D. Williams. Within this rich setting, the brothers launched their professional careers by creating the R&B group the Four Stars, whose members included David Porter, who would later gain recognition as a songwriter. Upon completing high school in 1961, Spencer began building recognition through performances on the Memphis club circuit. Following a period of consistent live work, he attracted the notice of Quinton Claunch, the songwriter and producer behind the soul-focused Goldwax Records imprint. Claunch offered him a recording contract in 1964; although his initial releases appeared via the Bandstand USA label, subsequent material came out directly on Goldwax. Even with high-quality tracks produced by Claunch and supported by top Memphis session musicians, Wiggins failed to attain a major hit, and once Goldwax ceased operations in 1969, he issued recordings on Fame, Pama, and Vivid Sound before departing Memphis permanently in 1975. Wiggins experienced a spiritual renewal in 1976 that led him to abandon secular music for gospel performances. After moving to Florida, he served as a deacon at Miami's New Birth Baptist Church and took on the role of director for two of its choirs. Although a gospel album recorded in 1977 with assistance from Al Green remained unreleased, Wiggins put out a cassette-only EP titled Jump for Jesus in 1999 that gained notable radio exposure in the Miami region. In 2003 he released the full-length album Key to the Kingdom, which combined his robust vocal approach and religious themes with production and arrangements reflecting modern R&B and hip-hop influences. The British Kent label issued a comprehensive collection of his Goldwax recordings, The Goldwax Years, in 2006. Spencer Wiggins passed away in Memphis on February 13, 2023, at the age of 81.