Sad Girl

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Sad Girl (Lloyd Smith, Jay Wiggins)

According to MusicVF, the 1963 single by co-songwriter Jay Wiggins failed to enter the Billboard top 100 charts, peaking at #116 pop, and attaining no recorded position on the Billboard R&B chart (possibly affected by the discontinuation of the R&B chart lasting from 30 November 1963 to 23 January 1965). I’ve also yet to find any indication that it entered the Cash Box top 40 R&B or pop charts. However, the fact that various sites describe the single as a hit suggests that it might have been a local or regional hit for Wiggins. There were at least three covers of the song released in 1965.

A 1969 cover by the Intruders, Gamble G-235, was the most commercially successful recording of the song: #14 R&B, #47 Hot 100. Other released recordings include those by Thee Midniters (1965), The Gallahads (1965), Curtis and the Showstoppers (1965), Joe Bataan (1969), Emperors Soul 69 (1969), Thee Unknown 4 (date unknown), Charlie & the Jives (1971), GQ (1982, minor R&B hit), Silk & Satin (1984), and Rocky Padilla (1994).

Jay Wiggins

Labels of either a single recording, or two separate recordings, of the song by Jay Wiggins are identified by different matrix numbers (see labels above):

issued in September 1963, on IPG 45-1008 (matrix PG 55011), b/w “No Not Me” — IPG Records is Independent Producers Group Records. While 45cat.com dates the release of IPG 45-1008 September 1963, and RateYourMusic also dates the single 1963, Discogs.com dates it 1965.
issued in 1966 on Amy 955 (matrix 6757), b/w “No Not Me”
- 45cat.com (May 1966)
- Discogs.com
- RateYourMusic.com

Though the two releases have different matrix numbers, in each case the labels indicate that the length is 2:17, suggesting that they might be the same recording. The following two videos display labels with the two different matrixes, but the videos seem to feature the same recording.

(below) alternate Jay Wiggins recording, date unknown, label and catalog number unknown

The following video, provided by Mr818Joker, describes the recording as an “alternate version” of “Sad Girl” by Jay Wiggins. A comment by srmichel417 says, “Could this be the original on IPG Records? The best known is on Amy Records and has the sax.”

This recording has a much sparser arrangement than that of the better-known recording by Wiggins. The instrumentation is so simple that it sounds like it could be a demo. Trumpets and sax play large roles in the dynamics of the other version, but in this recording there are no trumpets and only what might be faint touches of saxophone. I hear primarily only piano, drums, and voice. The recording is about 15 seconds shorter than the more well-known version by Wiggins.

Thee Midniters — issued in April 1965 on Chattahoochee CH-674, b/w “Heat Wave” (Irving Berlin)

The Gallahads — issued in April 1965 on Beechwood BW 3000, b/w “Keeper of Dreams,” and in May 1965 on Starla ST-15, with the same flip side

Curtis and the Showstoppers — issued in 1965 on Travis TR 039, b/w “Let’s Workout Baby”

Joe Bataan — issued in 1969 on Fania 492, b/w “Pepe El Toro”

The Intruders — issued in September 1969 on Gamble G-235, b/w “Let’s Go Downtown” — singles chart success: #14 R&B, #47 Hot 100

Emperors Soul 69 — released in 1969 on Futura 1505, as the B-side of “Bring Out Yourself” (Soul 69)

Thee Unknown 4, vocal by John — date unknown; issued on R.P.C. RCP-100, b/w “Hold It”

Charlie & The Jives — issued in 1971 on Tear Drop 3278, as the B-side of “No Tengo Dinero (Ain’t Got No Money)”

GQ — originally released in October 1981 on the LP Face to Face, Arista AL 9547 — A longer version was released as a single, b/w “Shy Baby,” on Arista AS 0659, in 1981 or early 1982*; single chart success: #39 R&B, #93 Hot 100

1981 album version

live performance for the TV series Atlantic City Alive!, 1981 — The introduction by the host begins at about 1:10 in the video.

Silk & Satin — issued in January 1984 on Hamilton Records SF-502, as the B-side of “You Got to Be the One”

Rocky Padilla — from the 1994 album Confessin’ a Feeling: Tribute to the Oldies, Thump TH 9915

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“Sad Girl”/ “I Need Someone” medley — live performances

Thee Midniters with special guest Little Willie G — Thee Mr. Duran Show, filmed at KCAT TV, Ch. 3 in Hacienda Heights, CA; date unknown (video uploaded on 24 February 2008)

Thee Midniters with lead vocals by Greg Esparza — 21 May 2011 at Santa Fe Springs Swapmeet, La Mirada, CA — video shot by Christina Mirasol (PR lady doowopdewdrops.com)

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Joe Bataan — live at the Philippine Arts Festival, Point Fermin Park, San Pedro, California, on 10 September 2011 — featuring Rocky Padilla and Yvonne Bataan on back vocals, and George Dez on guitar

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* Arista AS 065 release date — 45cat.com dates the release of the single January 1982, while Discogs.com dates it 1981. The labels displayed on the two sites, on both commercial and promotional versions of the US single, bear the date 1981. The LP Face to Face was released in October 1981, but all relevant single labels at both 45cat.com and Discogs.com give the length of the side as 3:37, which is 32 seconds longer than the album version.