"The Nitty Gritty" is a 1963 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 ...

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 ...

. Released by

Congress Records Congress Records was a record label founded in 1962 by Neil Galligan who headed Canadian-American Records and brought with him Linda Scott from that label. The label was sold the following year to Kapp Records. Under Kapp, the most successful artis ...

, it reached #8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 1964.

Cover versions

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

released a version of "The Nitty Gritty" by

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 ...

in mid-1969 on its Soul imprint. It went to #19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #2 on the

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

chart. *A version by

Diana Ross & The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...

can be found on the 2001 edition of their album, ''

Anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

'' *

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 "white ...

covered it on the

Dirt Track Date ''Dirt Track Date'' is an album by Southern Culture on the Skids, released in 1995. It was the band's first album for DGC Records. The band attracted some attention with the release of the song "Camel Walk". Production The album was produced by M ...

album.

Popular culture

*A 1963 televised performance of the dance associated with the song by Robert Banas, recorded for an episode of ''

The Judy Garland Show ''The Judy Garland Show'' is an American Variety show, musical variety television series that aired on CBS on Sunday nights during the 1963–1964 television season. Despite a sometimes stormy relationship with Judy Garland, CBS had found succes ...

'', has more than 10 million views on YouTube.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

References

1963 singles 1969 singles 2006 singles Songs written by Lincoln Chase 1963 songs Novelty songs {{2000s-single-stub