The Five Emprees

From Benton Harbor, MI (about 60 mls from Chicago), the Five Emprees had a big hit in Chicago in 1965 with “Little Miss Sad,” a cover of the melody originally released (and written) with the Addrisi Brothers. Powered by an infectious ascending riff, close United kingdom Invasion-influenced harmonies, and the type of Trini Lopez-influenced tempo that Neil Gemstone would popularize on music like “Cherry, Cherry,” “Small Miss Sad” also acquired some achievement in additional regions, and produced number 74 over the nationwide Billboard charts. A lot of the Five Emprees’ scant documented repertoire leaned intensely on cover variations, however, plus they hardly ever repeated the achievement of “Small Miss Sad,” despite documenting an album and many follow-up singles through 1968. The Five Emprees originally produced in senior high school as “Make as well as the Chefs” (called after vocalist Don Make), changing their name towards the Impressions and the Five Empressions before obtaining a agreement with the tiny Chicago indie label Freeport Information. Although “Small Miss Sad” was originally released beneath the name the Five Empressions, it had been quickly changed following the popular spirit group the Impressions got an injunction against them. Though originally released because the B-side from the Debbie Dovale cover “Hey Enthusiast” (co-written by Don Covay), it had been “Small Miss Sad” that noticed chart actions, motivating an recording (also known as Small Miss Sad) in past due 1965 which was done by hastily documented and rather badly produced cover variations, lots of the tracks dating through the pre-Beatles period. The group do to push out a few even more singles in 1966-68 on different labels, the majority of which were addresses of obscure pop/rock and roll and soul tracks completed in a passable but callow English Invasion harmony-influenced way betraying their early age (all except one had been still teenagers if they started recording). For his or her final produces, they shifted toward a soul-rock audio with horns, and even though they hung around before early 1970s, they didn’t launch anything after 1968. Their Small Miss Sad recording was reissued by Arf! Arf! on Compact disc in 2004, with the help of numerous bonus paths from non-LP singles and unreleased outtakes.