“Little Miss Sad” (1965) – The Five Empressions * Written by Dick Addrisi and Don Addrisi * 45: “Little Miss Sad” / “Hey Lover” * Label: FreeportFrom Benton Harbor, Michigan, this thumping, not-sad-but-happy cover of a 1964 non-charting Addrisi Brothers A-side climbed to #74 in Billboard the following year. Radio station WLS in nearby Chicago had spun the small-label track enough to blast it into the over-achievement zone. The Five Emprees (originally the Five Empressions on the single’s first pressing until Curtis Mayfield’s established trio said “ahem”) probably needed a larger label to take them to the next step, but a few more effervescent recordings like this one also wouldn’t have hurt. Later pressings of “Little Miss Sad” credited to the Five Emprees were re-recordings with added horns.