WE ARE THE SHAGGS (2026)

Featuring Dorothy Wiggin, Betty Wiggin, Susan Rogers, Joe Chiccarelli, Andy Paley, Tony Berg, Drew Christie, Russ Hamm, Bob Olive, Jesse Krakow and archival footage of Frank Zappa, Austin Wiggin, Helen Wiggin and The Shaggs.

Written by Joy Gregory, Ken Kwapis and Gunnar Madsen.

Directed by Ken Kwapis.

Distributed by In Cahoots. 98 minutes. Not Rated.

Screened at the 2026 Philadelphia Film Festival.

If you put together a list of the worst musical artists of all time, you’ll probably get a lot of votes for The Shaggs. In fact, in a recent YouTube video, The Professor of Rock did a countdown of the worst musicians ever and The Shaggs were right there, together with such distinguished company as Tiny Tim, Mrs. Miller, Florence Foster Jenkins and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy. (Apparently William Shatner’s musical adventures will have to be included on episode two.)

However, you have to wonder: how did a group of three sisters whose father self-released their only album in the late 60s and sold under 100 copies have the staying power to not only be remembered decades later, but to have a cult following and a documentary on their lives and careers?

Part of it was the band’s unique sound. As one of the talking heads points out in this documentary by Ken Kwapis (best known for helming much of The Office), their music sounds like all three sisters are each playing different songs at the same time. Their instruments were out of tune, their singing was out of time with the music, their songs were about odd subjects like parents and the disappearance of their pet cat.

Yet, there was an odd guilelessness and innocence about the music of The Shaggs. It was just three girls who were not musicians, doing what they had to get along in a strict household where their father was determined to make them stars. The problem is, unlike Murry Wilson and Joe Jackson, Austin Wiggin’s family was not made up of natural musical geniuses.

They were punk rock long before there was such a thing. They just didn’t know it.

You see, the most fascinating part of The Shaggs is the story which led to the group. The Wiggin sisters, Helen, Dot and Betty, never really saw themselves as musicians. However, their father had a mother who was a palm reader. She made two predictions for his life years earlier. He would end up marrying a redhead, which ended up happening. And his daughters would someday be part of a famous band.

Therefore, although the sisters didn’t know music and their father knew little more, he determined that he would do everything in his power to make them stars. Unfortunately for them, he was an alcoholic and a harsh task master. He basically made their lives a long loop of homeschooling and working on their music and practicing during their free time. Which is, I know, an odd use of the term free time.

Dot played lead guitar and wrote songs. Betty played rhythm guitar. Helen played drums. Sometimes younger sister Rachel played bass with them, but she was not a regular member of the band. Dot and Betty shared vocals. Austin rented a recording studio and had Philosophy of the World recorded and printed up 1,000 copies – 900 of which were quickly lost and are unaccounted for to this day.

Honestly, they were not so fond of creating music, although they admitted that they enjoyed doing shows at local halls. Even though the performances weren’t great and sometimes the crowds grew restless, it was still one of the rare occasions that the Wiggin girls got to socialize with people their own age.

Years after The Shaggs quietly faded away, collectors began discovering the album in used record bins and by the 1980s, a buzz built up. It was just so completely different from everything else out there that it resonated, at least to a certain type of music nerd. The album was reissued and the legend of The Shaggs began.

The Shaggs attracted some surprising fans along the way. Kurt Cobain called Philosophy of the World one of his five favorite albums, saying, “They were the real thing.” Frank Zappa said that The Shaggs were “better than The Beatles” and “the third best band in history.” (Of course, Zappa was well known for trolling people before that was even a thing.) Patti Smith, Bonnie Raitt, Jonathan Richman, Carla Bley and Tom Petty were all among their admirers.

Lenny Kaye of The Patti Smith Group wrote the liner notes for a reissue of Philosophy of the World. Terry Adams and Tom Ardolino of NRBQ became champions of the band, even getting the sisters to reunite onstage for a festival concert in 1999, and also curated the compilation Shaggs’ Own Thing. Shudder to Think member Jesse Krakow organized a “Still Better Than The Beatles” tribute concert.

Yet appreciating The Shaggs and enjoying The Shaggs are not necessarily the same thing. While some critics and musicians have argued – and continue to do so here – that Philosophy of the World is a misunderstood work of outsider genius, that may be giving the album a bit too much credit. There is an honesty and innocence to the music which is undeniably compelling. However, sincerity alone does not automatically make for great art, and much of the album remains a genuinely difficult listen.

Even the Wiggin sisters themselves acknowledge that their music wasn’t very good, and they had no particular calling to do it. The fact that it ever caught on is a cause for bemusement for them. In fact, when Austin died, they couldn’t wait to leave The Shaggs behind. Yet all these years later, Dot sings in her church choir and even periodically performs with her own band. Now that the music is not being forced upon them, it is easier to enjoy.

Which, sadly, sort of describes The Shaggs’ music itself. It’s fascinating to listen to in small doses, but I can’t imagine people listening to it regularly simply for pleasure. As We Are The Shaggs shows extremely well, The Shaggs’ story is much more intriguing than their music ever was, but that music is in its own way fascinating just because it came out of that story.

Perhaps the biggest revelation of We Are The Shaggs was that their lost pet cat was actually named Sparky, not Foot Foot. Mind blown.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 21, 2026.