Shirley Ellis
Encyclopedia
Shirley Ellis is an American soul music
singer
and songwriter
of West Indian
origin. She is best known for her novelty hits
"The Nitty Gritty" (1963) (U.S. #8), "The Name Game
" (1964) (U.S. #3) and "The Clapping Song
" (1965) (U.S. #8). "The Clapping Song" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
.
By 1954 she had written two songs which were recorded
by The Chords. Ellis was originally in the group
, The Metronomes, and she went on to marry 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 contract
s with the Kapp Records
subsidiary, Congress, and later Columbia
and Bell Records, but retired from the music industry in 1968.
s of her hits have been recorded by Madeline Bell
, The Belle Stars
, Laura Branigan
, Aaron Carter
, Gary Glitter
, Ricardo Ray, Pia Zadora
, Southern Culture on the Skids
, and Gladys Knight and the Pips (a version of "The Nitty Gritty", produced by Norman Whitfield
).
In addition, her song "Soul Time" was sampled
by the UK
band, The Go! Team
for their single "Bottle Rocket".
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
of West Indian
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
origin. She is best known for her novelty hits
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
"The Nitty Gritty" (1963) (U.S. #8), "The Name Game
The Name Game
"The Name Game", or "The Banana Song", is a children's singalong rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. It was written by U.S...
" (1964) (U.S. #3) and "The Clapping Song
The Clapping Song
"The Clapping Song" is an American song, written by Lincoln Chase, originally arranged by Charles Callello and recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965. The song was released shortly after Ellis had released "The Name Game"...
" (1965) (U.S. #8). "The Clapping Song" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
By 1954 she had written two songs which were recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
by The Chords. Ellis was originally in the group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, The Metronomes, and she went on to marry the lead singer, Alphonso Elliston. All her solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
hits were written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by her and her manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and songwriting partner, Lincoln Chase
Lincoln Chase
Lincoln R. Chase was an African-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 including "The Name Game" and "The Clapping Song".-Career:He studied at the American...
.
Ellis had recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
s with the Kapp Records
Kapp Records
Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp . David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca Records and RCA Victor Records. Kapp licensed its records to London Records for release in the UK.In 1967, David Kapp sold his label to MCA Inc...
subsidiary, Congress, and later Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and Bell Records, but retired from the music industry in 1968.
Cover versions
Cover versionCover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of her hits have been recorded by Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell
Madeline Bell is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the United Kingdom during the 1960s, having arrived from the US in the gospel show Black Nativity in 1962, with vocal group The Bradford Singers.-Career:She worked as a session singer, most notably backing for Dusty...
, The Belle Stars
The Belle Stars
The Belle Stars were an all female British rock band, founded in London in 1980 by former members of the 2 Tone ska revival band, The Bodysnatchers.-Career:...
, Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
, Aaron Carter
Aaron Carter
Aaron Charles Carter is an American singer. He came to fame as a pop and hip hop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among pre-teen and teenage audiences during the early-first decade of the 21st century....
, Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter
Gary Glitter is an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
, Ricardo Ray, Pia Zadora
Pia Zadora
Pia Zadora 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 , she came to national attention in 1981 when, following her starring role in the highly criticized Butterfly, she won a Golden Globe...
, Southern Culture on the Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
, and Gladys Knight and the Pips (a version of "The Nitty Gritty", produced by Norman Whitfield
Norman Whitfield
Norman Jesse Whitfield was an American songwriter and producer, best known for his work with Berry Gordy's Motown label during the 1960s...
).
In addition, her song "Soul Time" was sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
by the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band, The Go! Team
The Go! Team
The Go! Team are a six-piece band from Brighton, England. They combine indie rock and garage rock with a mixture of blaxploitation and Bollywood soundtracks, double dutch chants, old school hip hop and distorted guitars similar to the style of Sonic Youth. Their songs are a mix of live...
for their single "Bottle Rocket".
Albums
- 1964: Shirley Ellis in Action
- 1965: The Name Game
- 1967: Sugar, Let's Shing a Ling
- 1995: The Very Best of Shirley Ellis
- 2001: The Complete Congress Recordings
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
UK Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
||||
| 1963 | "The Nitty Gritty" | 8 | 4 | — | ||
| 1964 | "(That's) What the Nitty Gritty Is" | 72 | 14 | — | ||
| "Shy One" | 130 | 43 | — | |||
| "Such a Night" | — | — | — | |||
| "The Name Game The Name Game "The Name Game", or "The Banana Song", is a children's singalong rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. It was written by U.S... " |
3 | 4 | — | |||
| 1965 | "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap) The Clapping Song "The Clapping Song" is an American song, written by Lincoln Chase, originally arranged by Charles Callello and recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965. The song was released shortly after Ellis had released "The Name Game"... " |
8 | 16 | 6 | ||
| "The Puzzle Song (A Puzzle in Song)" | 78 | — | — | |||
| "I Will Never Forget" | — | — | — | |||
| "You Better Be Good, World" | — | — | — | |||
| 1966 | "Ever See a Diver Kiss His Wife While the Bubbles Bounce About Above the Water?" | 135 | — | — | ||
| "Birds, Bees, Cupids and Bows" | — | — | — | |||
| 1967 | "Soul Time" | 67 | 31 | — | ||
| "Sugar Let’s Shing-a-Ling" | — | — | — | |||
| 1978 | "The Clapping Song" (re-release) | — | — | 59 | ||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart | ||||||