"The Clapping Song" is an American song, written by

Lincoln Chase Lincoln R. Chase (June 29, 1926 – October 6, 1980) was an American songwriter and occasional recording artist. As a writer, his most notable songs were "Such a Night", " Jim Dandy", and several of Shirley Ellis' hits in the early 1960s incl ...

, originally arranged by

Charles Calello Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track ...

and recorded by

Shirley Ellis 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 Gri ...

in 1965. The single sold over a million copies, and peaked at number eight in the United States and number six in the UK.

Background

The song was released shortly after Ellis had released "

The Name Game "The Name Game" is a song co-written and performed by Shirley Ellis as a rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. She explains through speaking and singing how to play the game. The first verse is done using Ellis's first name; t ...

". "The Clapping Song" incorporates lyrics from the song "Little Rubber Dolly" (which does not contain the ‘three six nine’ part), a 1930s song recorded by the

Light Crust Doughboys The Light Crust Doughboys is an American Western swing band from Texas, United States, organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to World War II. ...

, and also features instructions for a

clapping game A clapping game (or hand game) is a type of usually cooperative (i.e., non-competitive) game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery rh ...

Chart performance

Cover versions

* The song returned to the charts when The Belle Stars covered the song in 1982, on their self-titled LP. This version charted at number 11 in the UK, and number 4 in Australia. It was the 33rd biggest selling single in Australia in 1983. *

Pia Zadora Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani, May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. After working as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964), she came to national attention ...

's cover of the song entered the top 40 in 1983, when it peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100. *

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

drummer

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

covered the song on his 2021 album ''

Outsider Outsider(s) may refer to: Film * ''Outsider'' (1997 film), a 1997 Slovene-language film * ''Outsider'' (2012 film), a Malayalam-language Indian film * ''Outsiders'' (1980 film), a South Korean film featuring Won Mi-kyung Literature * Outside ...

''. He released it as a single on 16 September 2021.

In media

"The Clapping Song" has been featured in the soundtracks of the movies '' Scratch,

Because of Winn-Dixie ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' is a 2000 children's novel written by Kate DiCamillo. It was adapted as a 2005 family film directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, and starring AnnaSophia Robb as Opal Buloni.

, Private Life, Stuber, Poms, All Together Now,'' and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. In '' Flatliners'', the song is sung by children on the playground. On television, it was featured in Round Six of the 2009 season of '' Dancing With the Stars''.

References

The Clapping Song Lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clapping Song, The 1965 songs 1965 singles 1982 singles 1983 singles The Belle Stars songs Pia Zadora songs Songs written by Lincoln Chase Novelty songs