Shirley Marie O'Garra (stage name Shirley Ellis, married name Shirley Elliston; January 19, 1929 – October 5, 2005) was an American soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian heritage. 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 "The Clapping Song" is an American song, written by Lincoln Chase, originally arranged by Charles Calello and recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965. The single sold over a million copies, and peaked at number eight in the United States and number ...

" (1965, US no. 8 and UK no. 6). "The Clapping Song" sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.

Career

By 1954, Ellis had written two songs recorded by

the Chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

. 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. Ellis had recording contracts with the Kapp Records subsidiary Congress and later

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

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, 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".

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. 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. 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 The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single " Sign of the Times". Career After The Bodysnatchers broke up, guitarists Stella Barker and Sarah-Jane Owen, saxophon ...

, Laura Branigan, Aaron Carter,

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

Ricardo Ray Ricardo "Richie" Ray (born February 15, 1945) is a Nuyorican (a New York-born Puerto Rican) virtuoso pianist, singer, music arranger, composer and religious minister known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby ...

, Pia Zadora,

Southern Culture on the Skids Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Originally a straightforward roots rock band, they became known as a tongue-in-cheek "party band" with an exaggerated " wh ...

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

(a version of "The Nitty Gritty", produced by

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators of the Moto ...

), and

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

, Harris Glenn Milstead (a

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and th ...

version of "The Name Game"). In addition, her song "Soul Time" was sampled by the UK band

the Go! Team The Go! Team are an English six-piece band from Brighton, England. The band initially began as a solo project conceived by Ian Parton; however, after the unexpected success of The Go! Team's debut album, ''Thunder, Lightning, Strike'', Parton re ...

for their single "Bottle Rocket". In 2011, “The Name Game” was covered by

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. She is the 13th actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, along with a Screen Actors G ...

and the cast of '' American Horror Story: Asylum'' and was featured in the episode of the same name.

Discography

Studio albums

*''In Action'' (1964, Congress) *''The Name Game'' (1965, Congress) *''Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling'' (1967,

)

Compilation albums

*''The Name Game'' (1988, MCA Special Products) *''The Very Best of Shirley Ellis'' (1995, Taragon) *''The Complete Congress Recordings'' (2001, Connoisseur Collection) *''Three Six Nine!: The Best of Shirley Ellis'' (2018,

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...

)

Singles

References

External links

Shirley Ellis Three Six Nine! The Name Game/Soul Time Home Page
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Shirley 1929 births 2005 deaths American people of Bahamian descent American people of Montserratian descent American people of West Indian descent American soul musicians American rhythm and blues singers People from the Bronx Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American singers Kapp Records artists 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women