Shirley Ellis

Track	Album
The Nitty Gritty	Congress CG-202
Such A Night	In Action
Don’t Let Go	In Action
The Name Game	Congress CG-230
Shy One	The Name Game
The Clapping Song	Congress CG-234
I See It, I Like It, I Want It	Congress CG-238
Soul Time	Columbia – 4-44021
How Lonely Is Lonely	Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling
Yes I’m Ready	Sugar, Let's Shing-a-Ling

Shirley Ellis photo 1
Columbia Records promo photo c1966

Shirley Ellis playlist

Contributor: Merric Davidson

Some folks know about it, some don’t
Some will learn to shout it, some won’t

So began one of the greatest rhythm & blues records of the early sixties.

Penned by a successful writer from the previous decade, Lincoln Chase (more about him later), this record was a sensation on the dancefloor, once heard never forgotten.

But sooner or later baby, here’s a ditty
Say you’re gonna have to get right down to the real nitty gritty

The Nitty Gritty, her first record proper, was an instant hit for Shirley Ellis in October 1963 reaching No.8 in the States and, of course, nowhere in good old late-to-the-party UK. Quite incredible but true, even with Ready Steady Go! starting out just a few months earlier. The prolific musician Hutch Davie deserves a nod for his sublime production work on The Nitty Gritty.

I say ‘first record proper’ because she had an earlier outing as Shirley Elliston (her married name); Love Can Make You Know on the Shell label in 1961. It was written by Lincoln Chase and I’ve added it to the Spotify playlist.

Shirley followed up The Nitty Gritty with her first album, In Action, in 1964. It’s mostly a collection of covers: Bring It On Home To Me, C C Rider, Stagger Lee, Kansas City, Stardust, Such A Night. The latter (a big hit in ’54 not just for the Drifters but also Johnnie Ray and then a bit later for Elvis) was also written by Lincoln Chase who had been Shirley’s manager for some years. Most of the remaining songs on In Action were composed by Chase.

Here’s Shirley’s version of Such A Night which is rather refreshing:

I’m picking one more track from In Action to add to the ten. A sock-it-to-me version of Don’t Let Go, a song written by Jesse Stone whose biggest success was probably Shake, Rattle And Roll.

Three singles were released from In Action none of which troubled the charts. The next chart-troubling track came along in November 1964 when The Name Game made it to No.3 in the US and Number Nowhere in the UK. Who knows what’s going on in this song – which is based on a children’s game – but Wikipedia offers up an explanation if you’re keen to play along.

Here’s Shirley Ellis with her co-writer of the song, Lincoln Chase again, demonstrating how to handle the Name Game on The Merv Griffin Show in 1965:

The Name Game was arranged and produced by Charles ‘Hit Man’ Calello.

In 1965, all the cover versions mentioned above were to see daylight again on Shirley’s next album, The Name Game, this time cashing in on the success of her second hit song. I also like the slow call and response ballad co-written by Shirley, Shy One, on this LP which had been a flop single a year earlier.

That same year, Shirley Ellis had her very first hit record in the UK with the song she’s probably best known for today. The Clapping Song (written by Chase and arranged by Callelo) reached No.6 here and No.8 in the United States. I completed my collection of the London American trilogy of Ellis singles with this one.

Shirley’s third and final album release was Sugar, Let’s Shing-a-Ling for Columbia in 1967. I can happily leave the title track alone, just a bit too much like a mélange of the earlier hits. However, there is a fantastic track on here and that’s Soul Time, a Shirley Ellis composition. I’ll leave it to Toppermost contributor Keith Shackleton aka The Riverboat Captain to big up this Northern Soul favourite. He had this to say on his website in 2011:

“This song means business from the word go: a twanging guitar figure, shuffling congas and a blaring clarion call of a horn riff, the rhythm section fires up and Shirley’s vocals ride in on the back of a terrific rattling drum-driven groove. You’re hooked, you’re dancing.”

Back to Sugar, Let’s Shing-a-Ling, the opening track of side two, How Lonely Is Lonely, is a fabulous weepie and a keeper. There’s also a strong cover of Barbara Mason’s Yes I’m Ready and I’ll pop that on the list too.

After Soul Time, there were two further singles for Columbia Records. And that was that. Shirley decided to hang up her hat.

In the end, you have to say that too many of Shirley’s records tried too hard to emulate the earlier formula and failed: The Puzzle Song (although the flip I See It, I Like It, I Want It is a winner), Takin’ Care Of Business, and the truly lamentable Ever See A Diver Kiss His Wife While The Bubbles Bounce About Above the Water.

Having said that, you also have to say that when she was good she was very, very good.

Long live the Nitty Gritty!