The Scruffy Group was a band formed in 1965 by Jack Van Pelt (guitar) and Max Freeland (drums), two students at Ohio State University, who joined with two friends from their hometown Lima, Ohio: Jim Buehl (rhythm guitar) and Alan Ulrich (bass). The band moved to Strongsville, Ohio, where they played night concerts at the Skyline Inn. After being suggested to make a single, Jack Van Pelt composed the two songs “Little Girl” and “Do” in four hours. The band recorded them in a few hours at Audio Recording in Cleveland. The record was released in the summer of 1965 by Jimmy Testa’s Tema label, with “Little Girl” on the A side.

After 6 or 8 months, the membership of the band changed, as Max Freeland and later Jim Buell left it. Later in 1967 the band decided to split. They never released a second record. Jack Van Pelt has continued to write and record songs over the years.

Here is a YouTube musical video of the song:

Another band in Ohio, the Illusions, were formed around 1963 by some Garfield Heights high school students: Chuck Matousek (vocals/sax/leader), Glen Estronic (keyboards), George Stage (drums), Eddie Kray (bass), and Tony Wesolusky (guitar). First called the Twilighters, while the name was already taken by another band, they renamed themselves the Illusions. They played in various clubs in Cleveland. Having decided to record a single, they chose two songs, “Little Girl” by the Scruffy Group and “Big Beat ’65” by the famous guitar player Mickey Baker. The record was released in 1965 on Patrick Connelly’s label Pama.

The Illusions recorded a LP’s worth of songs and intended to make a new single, but for various reasons the record was never released. By the summer of 1966, the band had ceased to exist.

Compared to the original version of “Little Girl” by the Scruffy Group, the Illusions made a more studied recording, with Arnie Rosenberg playing piano and backing female voices. The song is available on SoundCloud. Here is a YouTube musical video of the song:

The lyrics of the version by the Illusions (slightly different from the original by the Scruffy Group) can be found on Lyrics.com:

Little Girl
words & music by Jack Van Pelt

Little girl, why you look so blue?
Little girl, are you lonely too?
Have you lost your one and only?
I’ve lost mine too…
Little girl, don’t be blue…

Little girl, tossed by the side
I tried to wash away all your tears behind
We together, we will start anew
Little girl, don’t be blue

We together, we will start anew
Little girl, don’t be blue

Little girl, I’ll never break your heart
If you dont mind, I know we’ll never part
Our love will last forever, so strong and true
Little girl, don’t be blue
Little girl, don’t be blue
Little girl, don’t be blue
Little girl, don’t be blue

More information: History of the Scruffy Group and of the Illusions, with several photographs, on Buckeye Beat, a website devoted to popular music from Ohio in the years 1950 to 1979 and beyond.