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.