Shirley Ellis Explained

Shirley Ellis
Background:solo_singer
Birth Name:Shirley Marie O'Garra
Alias:Shirley Ellis
Birth Date:January 19, 1929
Birth Place:The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Death Place:The Bronx, New York City, U.S.
Instrument:Voice
Occupation:Singer, songwriter
Years Active:1958–1968
Past Member Of:The Metronomes

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]

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 . 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, 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 and was featured in the episode of the same name.[8]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

YearSinglePeak chart positionsAlbumRelease date
US
[9]
US
R&B
AUS
[10]
CAN
[11]
UK
[12]
1963"The Nitty Gritty"84 - 19[13] - align=left rowspan="4"In ActionOctober 25, 1963
1964"(That's) What the Nitty Gritty Is"7214 - - - February 18, 1964
"Shy One"13043 - - - April 9, 1964
"Such a Night" - - - - - June 13, 1964
"The Name Game"34402 - align=left rowspan="1"The Name GameNovember 12, 1964
1965"The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)"81686106align=left rowspan="2" 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" - - - - - align=left rowspan="1"The Name GameJuly 3, 1965
"You Better Be Good, World" - - - - - align=left rowspan="2" 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" - - - - - align=left rowspan="3"Sugar, Let's Shing-a-LingOctober 17, 1966
1967"Soul Time"67318739[14] - January 30, 1967
"Sugar Let's Shing-a-Ling" - - - - - May 8, 1967
1978"The Clapping Song" (re-release) - - - - 59align=left rowspan="1" June 23, 1978
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Person Details for Arnold Alphonso Elliston, "Florida, Marriages, 1830-1993" — . Familysearch.org . 2014-07-31.
  2. Whitburn, J. (2010). The Billboard book of top 40 hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 214.
  3. Web site: Shirley Ellis Page . Soulwalking.co.uk . 2014-07-31.
  4. Web site: United States Census, 1930, Shirley O Gara in household of William O Gara . . FamilySearch.org . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306015200/https://familysearch.org/pal%3A/MM9.1.1/X4KG%2D3BY. 2016-03-06. dead. 16 August 2014 .
  5. Web site: Shirley Ellis. Rateyourmusic.com. 17 October 2014.
  6. Book: Murrells , Joseph . 1978. The Book of Golden Discs. 2nd. Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. London. 190. 0-214-20512-6. registration.
  7. Book: The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music. Colin Larkin. Virgin Books. 1997. First. 0-7535-0149-X. 178/9.
  8. Web site: diddywah.blogspot.com. Diddy Wah. 17 October 2014.
  9. US Charts > Shirley Ellis. Billboard. 2020-05-19.
  10. Book: Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. David Kent. 0-646-11917-6. 1993. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W..
  11. CAN Charts > Shirely Ellis. RPM. 2020-05-19.
  12. Web site: UK Charts > Shirley Ellis. Official Charts Company. 2020-05-19.
  13. Web site: CHUM Hit Parade - December 30, 1963.
  14. Web site: RPM Top 100 Singles - April 15, 1967.