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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]
On January 19, 1929, 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.[1]
On August 3, 1949, O'Garra married her husband, Arnold Alphonso Elliston (October 21, 1929 – August 23, 2009; professional name: Alphonso Elliston), in Florida.[1]
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[when?] recording contracts with the Kapp Records subsidiary Congress and later Columbia and Bell.[citation needed]
In 1968, Ellis retired[why?] from the music industry.[citation needed]
On October 5, 2005, Ellis died in the Bronx section of New York City at the age of 76.
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.[citation needed]
In 2023, "I See It, I Like It, I Want It" was featured in a Walmart commercial.[citation needed]
In 2024, "The Puzzle Song" was used in an Amazon Prime commercial.[citation needed]
In 2025, a cover version of "I See It, I Like It, I Want It" was featured in a Chase Bank commercial.[8]
In 2021, "The Clapping Song" was used in the film Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).[9] It was also featured in the first teaser trailer for the film Die, My Love (2025).[10]
Cover versions of Ellis' 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, a.k.a. Harris Glenn Milstead (a hi-NRG version of "The Name Game").[5]
The Ellis song "Soul Time" was sampled[when?] by the UK band the Go! Team for their single "Bottle Rocket".[citation needed]
In 2011, "The Name Game" was covered by Jessica Lange and the cast of American Horror Story: Asylum and was featured in the episode of the same name.[11]
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | Release date | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] |
US R&B [12] |
AUS [13] |
CAN [14] |
UK [15] | ||||||||||
| 1963 | "The Nitty Gritty" | 8 | 4 | — | 19[16] | — | In Action | October 25, 1963 | ||||||
| 1964 | "(That's) What the Nitty Gritty Is" | 72 | 14 | — | — | — | February 18, 1964 | |||||||
| "Shy One" | 130 | 43 | — | — | — | April 9, 1964 | ||||||||
| "Such a Night" | — | — | — | — | — | June 13, 1964 | ||||||||
| "The Name Game" | 3 | 4 | 40 | 2 | — | The Name Game | November 12, 1964 | |||||||
| 1965 | "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)" | 8 | 16 | 86 | 10 | 6 | — | 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" | — | — | — | — | — | The Name Game | July 3, 1965 | |||||||
| "You Better Be Good, World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 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" | — | — | — | — | — | Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling | October 17, 1966 | |||||||
| 1967 | "Soul Time" | 67 | 31 | 87 | 39[17] | — | January 30, 1967 | |||||||
| "Sugar Let's Shing-a-Ling" | — | — | — | — | — | May 8, 1967 | ||||||||
| 1978 | "The Clapping Song" (re-release) | — | — | — | — | 59 | — | June 23, 1978 | ||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
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