Finally a Shirley Ellis collection
S. Paradoa | Miami, Florida United States | 04/30/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A terrific import where you get the hits you remember from '63-'65 (like "The Nitty Gritty," "The Name Game" and "The Clapping Song") plus all the b-sides and album cuts on the Congress label. 24 tracks in all, great sound and label info. This set beats the one Taragon released a few years ago that used alternate takes. Any '60s pop or soul music collector will want to snap this one up. It is impossible to find the top ten hit "The Clapping Song" on a domestic release, so order this compilation now."
THIS Is How To Do A "Greatest Hits" Or "Best Of" Album
S. Paradoa | 08/01/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are far too many "best of" "greatest hits" or "anthology" CDs for singers who had ten hits or less which then proceed to leave off at least one - and often more - of those hits. Congratulations Connoisseur of England for a fine effort. Not only do you give us all five of her Congress charters, but every B-side as well. Can't get ANY better than that for the completist collector of hit singles.
When Lincoln Chase met Shirley he had spent some significant time recording for such diverse labels as Dawn, Splash, Columbia, Liberty, Decca, Swan, and RCA Victor with absolutely no success on either the R&B or pop singles charts. Although he did write some memorable tunes such as Jim Dandy [LaVern Baker] and Such A Night [Drifters and later Elvis].
But he not only married her, he became her manager and then wrote all her hits beginning with The Nitty Gritty which, b/w Give Me A List, shot to # 8 on the Billboard Hot 100/R&B charts early in 1964 with the backing of the Hutch Davie Orchestra - right up there amongst the Beatles first wave of hits.
The too similar follow-up (That's) What The Nitty Gritty Is in February didn't fare nearly as well, peaking at # 72 Hot100/R&B b/w Get Out and again involving the Davie orchestra. The male bass voice heard is Jim Dandy himself.
Nothing else worked for the remainder of 1964 and on into 1965 before the catchy The Name Game went all the way to # 3 Hot 100/# 4 R&B b/w Whisper To Me Wind in February. And her next release didn't do too badly either as the equally-catchy The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap) hit the # 8 Hot 100 slot and # 16 R&B in April/May. b/w This Is Beautiful.
As another reviewer points out the Clapping Song is one of the most difficult Top 10 Pop hits to find today and, as far as I know, this is the ONLY place you are apt to find it. Her final hit at Congress came in April 1965 when The Puzzle Song (A Puzzle In Song) topped out at # 78 Hot 100 b/w I See It, I Like It, I Want It - neither of which made the R&B charts.
There was to be one more hit for Shirley, but it didn't come until March 1967 by which time she had moved to Columbia where Soul Time made it to # 31 R&B and # 67 Hot 100 b/w Waitin'.
After that she retired. But Shirley Ellis was much much more than just a purveyor of novelty tunes, and I really believe that, with a different series of songs amd her classic beauty, she could have carried on for many more years in the jazz field. Just listen to flips like Give Me A List, Get Out, and Whisper To Me Wind and you'll see what I mean. Or failed singles like I Told You So and the calypso-tinged One Sour Note in which she evokes comparisons to Dinah Washington.
Vastly underrated. Again, thank you Connoisseur for a fantastic package, complete with six pages of informative liner notes by Malcolm Baumgart and Mick Patrick, written in 2001. It would be nice to know what Shirley is doing these days."
Track Listings (24) - Disc #1