Shirley Ellis

Shirley Marie O'Garra^[1] (stage name Shirley Ellis, married name Shirley Elliston;^[2] January 19, 1929 – October 5, 2005^[3]) was an American soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian heritage.^[4][5] She is best known for her novelty hits "The Nitty Gritty" (1963, US no. 8), "The Name Game" (1964, US no. 3) and "The Clapping Song" (1965, US no. 8 and UK no. 6). "The Clapping Song" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.^[6]

Shirley Ellis
Birth name	Shirley Marie O'Garra
Also known as	Shirley Ellis
Born	(1929-01-19)January 19, 1929 The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Died	October 5, 2005(2005-10-05) (aged 76) The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Genres	Pop soul
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instrument	Voice
Years active	1958–1968
Labels	Congress Kapp Columbia Bell
Formerly of	The Metronomes

Career

By 1954, Ellis had written two songs recorded by the Chords.^[5] She was originally in the group the Metronomes and married the lead singer, Alphonso Elliston. All her solo hits were written by her and her manager, record producer, and songwriting partner Lincoln Chase.^[7]

Ellis had recording contracts with the Kapp Records subsidiary Congress and later Columbia and Bell, but retired from the music industry in 1968.

In August 2020, "The Clapping Song" was used in a TV commercial for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0, and in April 2021 her "I See It, I Like It, I Want It" was in another Samsung commercial, this time for the Galaxy Z Flip 5G and Galaxy Z Fold2. In 2021, "The Clapping Song" was used in the movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife. In 2023, "I See It, I Like It, I Want It" was featured in a Walmart commercial. In 2024, "The Puzzle Song" was used in an Amazon Prime commercial.

Personal life

Shirley O'Garra was born to William H. and Petra (Smith) O'Garra. Her father was a native of Montserrat, and her mother was born in the Bahamas.^[4] Shirley had three full siblings, Joyce, Bertram and William Jr., and four half siblings, Reginald, Suzanne, Joycelyn and Berbian. O'Garra married her husband, Arnold Alphonso Elliston (October 21, 1929 – August 23, 2009; professional name: Alphonso Elliston), in Florida on August 3, 1949.^[1] She died on October 5, 2005, in New York City at the age of 76.

Cover versions

Cover versions of her hits have been recorded by Madeline Bell, the Belle Stars,^[7] Laura Branigan, Aaron Carter, Gary Glitter, Ricardo Ray, Pia Zadora, Southern Culture on the Skids, Gladys Knight & the Pips (a version of "The Nitty Gritty", produced by Norman Whitfield), and Divine, a.k.a. Harris Glenn Milstead (a hi-NRG version of "The Name Game").^[5] In addition, her song "Soul Time" was sampled by the UK band the Go! Team for their single "Bottle Rocket". In 2011, "The Name Game" was covered by Jessica Lange and the cast of American Horror Story: Asylum and was featured in the episode of the same name.^[8]

Discography

Studio albums

• In Action (1964, Congress)
• The Name Game (1965, Congress)
• Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling (1967, Columbia)^[7]

Compilation albums

• The Name Game (1988, MCA Special Products)
• The Very Best of Shirley Ellis (1995, Taragon)^[7]
• The Complete Congress Recordings (2001, Connoisseur Collection)
• Three Six Nine!: The Best of Shirley Ellis (2018, Ace)

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions					Album	Release date
		US [9]	US R&B [9]	AUS [10]	CAN [11]	UK [12]
1963	"The Nitty Gritty"	8	4	—	19[13]	—	In Action	October 25, 1963
1964	"(That's) What the Nitty Gritty Is"	72	14	—	—	—		February 18, 1964
	"Shy One"	130	43	—	—	—		April 9, 1964
	"Such a Night"	—	—	—	—	—		June 13, 1964
	"The Name Game"	3	4	40	2	—	The Name Game	November 12, 1964
1965	"The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)"	8	16	86	10	6	—	March 10, 1965
	"The Puzzle Song (A Puzzle in Song)"/"I See It, I Like It, I Want It" (B-side)	78	—	—	32	—		May 15, 1965
	"I Will Never Forget"	—	—	—	—	—	The Name Game	July 3, 1965
	"You Better Be Good, World"	—	—	—	—	—	—	October 23, 1965
1966	"Ever See a Diver Kiss His Wife While the Bubbles Bounce About Above the Water?"	135	—	—	—	—		January 4, 1966
	"Birds, Bees, Cupids and Bows"	—	—	—	—	—	Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling	October 17, 1966
1967	"Soul Time"	67	31	87	39[14]	—		January 30, 1967
	"Sugar Let's Shing-a-Ling"	—	—	—	—	—		May 8, 1967
1978	"The Clapping Song" (re-release)	—	—	—	—	59	—	June 23, 1978
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.