Shirley Ellis
| Shirley Ellis | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Shirley Marie O'Garra |
| Also known as | Shirley Ellis |
| Born |
19 January 1929 Bronx, New York City, N.Y., US |
| Died | 5 October 2005 (aged 76) Bronx, New York City, N.Y., US |
| Genres | Pop, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Voice |
| Years active | 1958–1968 |
| Labels | Congress, Kapp, Columbia, Bell |
| Associated acts | The Metronomes |
Shirley Marie O'Garra (stage name: Shirley Ellis; married name: Shirley Elliston; 19 January 1929 [though her Social Security card shows 20 Jan 1927] – 5 October 2005) was an American soul music singer and songwriter of West Indian origin. 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.
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, but retired from the music industry in 1968.
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 H Jr and four half siblings Reginald, Suzanne, Joycelyn and Berbian. O'Garra married her husband, Arnold Alphonso Elliston (21 Oct 1929 - 23 Aug 2009; professional name: Alphonso Elliston) on 3 August 1949 in Florida. It is not known if she had children.
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