The Name Game
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Shirley Ellis (born Shirley Marie Elliston, circa 1941, The Bronx, New York) is a 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" (1965) (U.S. #3) and "The Clapping Song" (1965) (U.S. #8).
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 contracts with the Kapp Records subsidiary, Congress, and later Columbia and Bell Records, but retired from the music industry in 1968.
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Cover versions
Cover versions 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".
Discography
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
- 1963: "The Nitty Gritty" - U.S. Pop #8, U.S. R&B #4
- 1964: "(That's) What the Nitty Gritty Is" - U.S. Pop #72, U.S. R&B #14
- 1964: "The Name Game" - U.S. Pop #3, U.S. R&B #4
- 1965: "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)" - U.S. Pop #8, U.S. R&B #16, UK #6
- 1965: "The Puzzle Song (A Puzzle In Song)" - U.S. Pop #78
- 1967: "Soul Time" - U.S. Pop #67, U.S. R&B #31
- 1978: "The Clapping Song" - UK #59
