Shirley Marie O'Garra (stage name Shirley Ellis, married name Shirley Elliston;Whitburn, J. (2010). The Billboard book of top 40 hits. New York: Billboard Books. p. 214. 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 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.
Biography 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. Shirley had three full siblings, Joyce, Bertram and William Jr., and four half siblings, Reginald, Suzanne, Joycelyn and Berbian.
On August 3, 1949, O'Garra married her husband, Arnold Alphonso Elliston (October 21, 1929 – August 23, 2009; professional name: Alphonso Elliston), in Florida.
By 1954, Ellis had written two songs recorded by the Chords. 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.
Ellis had recording contracts with the Kapp Records subsidiary Congress and later Columbia and Bell.
In 1968, Ellis retired from the music industry.
On October 5, 2005, Ellis died in the Bronx section of New York City at the age of 76.
Commercials 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 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.
In 2025, a cover version of "I See It, I Like It, I Want It" was featured in a Chase Bank commercial.
Film In 2021, "The Clapping Song" was used in the film Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). It was also featured in the first teaser trailer for the film Die My Love (2025).
Cover versions Cover versions of Ellis' 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, 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").
The Ellis 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 American Horror Story: Asylum and was featured in the episode of the same name.
Discography Studio albums In Action (1964, Congress) The Name Game (1965, Congress) Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling (1967, Columbia)
Compilation albums The Name Game (1988, MCA Special Products) The Very Best of Shirley Ellis (1995, Taragon) The Complete Congress Recordings (2001, Connoisseur Collection) Three Six Nine!: The Best of Shirley Ellis (2018, Ace)
Singles Year Single Peak chart positions Album Release date US USR&B AUS CAN UK 1963 "The Nitty Gritty" 8 4 — 19 — 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 align=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" — — — — — The Name Game July 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" — — — — — Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling October 17, 1966 1967 "Soul Time" 67 31 87 39 — January 30, 1967 "Sugar Let's Shing-a-Ling" — — — — — May 8, 1967 1978 "The Clapping Song" (re-release) — — — — 59 align=left rowspan="1" June 23, 1978 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
References
External links Shirley Ellis Three Six Nine! The Name Game/Soul Time Home Page
Fansite biography Biography and full discography