Shirley Ellis (born Shirley Marie Elliston, circa 1941, The Bronx, New York) is a soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian origin.[LINK: http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/shirley_ellis] Rateyourmusic.com 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. Cover versions Cover versions of her hits have

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