The Foote Files: Shirley Ellis
CBSDFW.COM — Shirley Ellis — born Shirley Elliston on Jan. 19, 1929 in New York City and passed away on Oct. 5, 2005 — was an American R&B singer/songwriter who charted three times on Billboard from 1963-1965.
Two songs, "The Name Game" and "The Clapping Song" were "novelty songs" from April 1965. But today, we feature her debut song to chart.
"The Nitty Gritty" was released in the fall of 1963 and hit #8 on Billboard. Written by Lincoln Chase, produced by Hutch Davie and released on the Congress Record label, it was on the charts for 10 weeks. It runs around 2 minutes and 12 seconds.
You won't hear this song too much today, except on SIRIUS XM 60's On 6 or KLUV-FM HD2... Or you can hear it right here!
Today's version is what it would have sounded like on New York's Musicradio 77 WABC, with great personalities such as Harry Harrison, Ron Lundy, Herb Oscar Anderson, Big Dan Ingram and Cousin Bruce Morrow!
