Tommy Wiggins

Long before Minnesota native Tommy Wiggins reached a wider audience through the 1990 Nouveau/K-Tel album Cool Saturdays, he had already spent nearly two decades honing his craft in studios and on stage. His earliest credit dates to 1972, when the group Freeland issued the album Headin' Back. Solo projects began appearing in 1980 with the release of Expensive Fun, followed three more times before his national debut: Black Velvet Elvis in 1984, Angels of Warsaw in 1987, and Tracers the next year. Local listeners took note; the Minnesota Music Awards recognized his work with a 1983 nomination for Best New Artist and a 1988 nod for Best Soundtrack LP. During the same decade he launched Chilidog Records, an imprint devoted to alternative music.

Wiggins first touched an instrument at age eight, drawn to the accordion by Lawrence Welk’s television broadcasts of polkas and standards. The arrival of the Beatles redirected his focus toward the British Invasion, and during his teenage years he absorbed the sounds of the Youngbloods and the Animals, particularly keyboardist Alan Price. At fifteen he began performing with Minneapolis-area bands and later studied audio recording at Hennepin Technical College. After moving to Ohio with spouse Georgia Wiesner, he served as program director for the recording-arts department at Cuyahoga Community College.