"The Clapping Song" is an American song, written by Lincoln Chase, originally arranged by

Charles Calello Charles Calello (born August 24, 1938) is an American arranger, composer, conductor, record producer, and singer born in Newark, New Jersey. Calello attended Newark Arts High School and the Manhattan School of Music, in New York City. His track r ...

and recorded by Shirley Ellis in 1965. The single sold over a million copies, and peaked at number eight in the United States and number six in the UK.

Background

The song was released shortly after Ellis had released "

The Name Game "The Name Game" is a song co-written and performed by Shirley Ellis as a rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. She explains through speaking and singing how to play the game. The first verse is done using Ellis's first name; t ...

". "The Clapping Song" incorporates lyrics from the song "Little Rubber Dolly", a 1930s song recorded by the

Light Crust Doughboys The Light Crust Doughboys is an American Western swing band from Texas, United States, organized in 1931 by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company in Saginaw, Texas. The band achieved its peak popularity in the few years leading up to World War II. ...

, and also features instructions for a

clapping game A clapping game (or hand game) is a type of usually cooperative (i.e., non-competitive) game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery rhym ...

Chart performance

The song and partial lyrics is mentioned in To The Last Ridge by W. H. Downing, a memoir of an Australian soldier in WW1 published in 1920, referring to an incident in 1916, thus implying that it pre-dates the 1930’s reference above. Page 11 of the 2002 reissue by Grub Street.

Cover versions

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...

did a cover version of "The Clapping Song" in 1972, on his debut album ''

Glitter Glitter is an assortment of flat, small, reflective particles that are precision cut and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles resemble confetti, sparkles and sequins, but somewhat smaller. Since prehistoric times ...

''. * Ian Cussick recorded his version which was released as a single in 1981. * The song returned to the charts when

The Belle Stars The Belle Stars were a British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single " Sign of the Times" as well as their cover of "Iko Iko" originally released in 1982 and featured on the soundtrack to the film ''Rai ...

covered the song in 1982, on their self-titled LP. This version charted at number 11 in the UK, and number 4 in Australia. It was the 33rd biggest selling single in Australia in 1983. *

Pia Zadora Pia Zadora (born Pia Alfreda Schipani; May 4, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She debuted as a child actress on Broadway, in regional theater, and in the film ''Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'' (1964). She came to national attention i ...

's cover of the song entered the US top 40 in 1983, when it peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100. *

Aaron Carter Aaron Charles Carter (December 7, 1987November 5, 2022) was an American singer and rapper. He came to fame as a teen pop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among preteen and teenage audiences during the first years of th ...

did a cover version of "The Clapping Song" in 2000, on his second album '' Aaron's Party (Come Get It)''. *

Icona Pop Icona Pop ( ) are a Swedish synth-pop duo that formed in 2009, with electro house and indie pop music influences. Its two members, Aino Jawo (born 7 July 1986) and Caroline Hjelt (born 8 November 1987), grew up in Stockholm and created what the ...

released a modified cover of this song in 2015 titled "Clap Snap" on their EP Emergency. *

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

drummer Roger Taylor covered the song on his 2021 album '' Outsider''. He released it as a single on 16 September 2021.

In media

"The Clapping Song" has been featured in the soundtracks of the movies '' Scratch,

Because of Winn-Dixie ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' is a 2000 children's novel written by American author Kate DiCamillo. It was adapted as a 2005 family film directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, and starring AnnaSophia Robb as Op ...

, Private Life, Stuber, Poms, All Together Now, Ghostbusters: Afterlife''. and ''

Maestro Maestro (; from the Italian '' maestro'' , meaning " master" or "teacher," plural: maestros or maestri) is an honorific title of respect, sometimes abbreviated Mo. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and oper ...

''. In ''

Flatliners ''Flatliners'' is a 1990 American science fiction psychological horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Michael Douglas and Rick Bieber, and written by Peter Filardi. It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin, Oliv ...

'', the song is sung by children on the playground. On television, it was featured in Round Six of the 2009 season of ''

Dancing With the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''.

References

External links

The Clapping Song Lyrics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clapping Song, The 1965 songs 1965 singles 1982 singles 1983 singles The Belle Stars songs Pia Zadora songs Songs written by Lincoln Chase Gary Glitter songs Ian Cussick songs Novelty songs