Prophecy
“ What you hold in your hands in nothing less than the fulfillment of a prophecy.
read his palm. She made three predictions: that he would marry a woman with strawberry blonde hair, that he would have two sons whom she’d never meet, and finally, that his three daughters would start a band. In time, Austin married Annie Wiggin, whose strawberry blonde hair seemed to be the color of promise fulfilled. Their two sons were born after Austin’s mother’s death. And then Austin decided to take fate into his own hands and force the third prediction to fruition, unleashing a sound unlike any the world of American pop music had ever heard. Taking his three daughters, Dot, Betty and Helen Wiggin, out of high school, he thrust instruments in their hands, had them practice for hours a day – between sessions of calisthenics – and called them The Shaggs. In 1969, with a few concerts at the local Town Hall of Fremont, New Hampshire under their belt, The Shaggs hit the studio for one day. Austin paid for the session with money the family had saved in a coffee can. The result was Philosophy of the World, a record so odd and baffling that Frank Zappa heard it years later and famously dubbed The Shaggs ‘better than the Beatles.’”
—Joy Gregory, book and co‐lyrics for the musical, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World in the liner notes from upcoming re‐release of the Shaggs’ album.
When he was a boy, Austin Wiggin, Jr., father and future ‘proprietor’ of The Shaggs, asked his mother to
TexttoText Connection The Weird Sisters from Orson Welles’ 1948 film Macbeth.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the Weird Sisters prophesize that Macbeth will become thane of Cawdor and then king of England. Swiftly thereafter, Macbeth is unexpectedly anointed thane of Cawdor. He and Lady Macbeth, hungered by the fulfillment of the first part of the prophecy, plot to murder Duncan, the king, who will be visiting their castle. Macbeth kills Duncan and takes the crown for himself. Was Macbeth fated to be king, or did he will it to happen? Are there any parallels between Macbeth’s story and the Wiggins’? How much control do we have over our own fates? Is knowledge of the future is a blessing or a curse?
Helen, Dot, and Betty Wiggin.
Tragic Hero (definition): A literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy.
Discussion Topic The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World is based on a true story, about people who are still living. Do you think writers using real‐life stories as inspiration can exercise full creative license, or do they have a responsibility to the truth? Does the character Austin Wiggin have some of the qualities of a tragic hero? Is the real‐life story of the Shaggs a tragedy?
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