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{{Short description|Rhyming song by Shirley Ellis}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2008}}
{{about|the song|the word games|word chain|and|Shiritori|the [[American Horror Story: Asylum]] episode|The Name Game (American Horror Story)}}
"'''The Name Game'''," or "'''The Banana Song'''", is a children's singalong rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name. It was written by singer [[Shirley Ellis]] with Lincoln Chase, and Ellis' recording, produced by Charles Calello, was released in late 1964 (see [[1964 in music]]) as "The Name Game." The record went to number 3 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot 100]],<ref>Whitburn, Joel. ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits''. [[North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|North Hollywood]]: Billboard, 1996, 204.</ref> and number 4 on the magazine's R&B charts in 1965. It was re-released in 1966 and again in 1973.
{{Infobox song
| name = The Name Game
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [[Shirley Ellis]]
| album = The Name Game
| B-side = Whisper to Me Wind
| released = {{Start date|1964|11}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.45cat.com/record/cg230|title=45cat - Shirley Ellis - The Name Game / Whisper To Me Wind - Congress - USA - CG-230}}</ref>
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|[[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]|[[Novelty song|novelty]]}}
| length = 2:39
| label = [[Congress Records|Congress]]
| writer = {{hlist|Shirley Ellis|[[Lincoln Chase]]}}
| producer = [[Charles Calello]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
"'''The Name Game'''" is a song co-written and performed by [[Shirley Ellis]]<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|title=The Name Game|url=http://www.billboard.com/song/shirley-ellis/6204011/the-name-game}}</ref> as a rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name.<ref name="ngpage">{{Cite web|url=http://keepkey.yochanan.net/shirley1.htm|title=Three Six Nine! Shirley Ellis Name Game / Soul Time Home Page|website=keepkey.yochanan.net}}</ref> She explains through speaking and singing how to play the game. The first verse is done using Ellis's first name; the other names used in the original version of the song are Lincoln, Arnold, Tony, Billy, Marsha, and Nick.


==History==
==Song widely covered==
Written by American singer Shirley Ellis (who based the song on a game she played as a child<ref name="ngpage"/>) and [[Lincoln Chase]]. Ellis's recording, produced by [[Charles Calello]], was released in late 1964 as "The Name Game". The record scored third on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot 100]], and fourth on the magazine's R&B charts during 1965. The record was re-released in 1966 and again in 1973. An R&B singer for 10 years before that success, Ellis was also successful with "[[The Clapping Song|The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)]]" (No.8 pop and No.16 R&B), and [[The Nitty Gritty (song)|"The Nitty Gritty"]] (No.8 on the Hot 100 and No.4 on the ''[[Cash Box]]'' R&B chart). Ellis performed on then-major television programs, including ''[[Hullabaloo (TV series)|Hullabaloo]]'', ''[[American Bandstand]]'' and ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]''. It later became a popular children's singalong.<ref name="ngpage"/> In [[RPM (magazine)|Canada]] it reached No. 2.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.5621.pdf| title=RPM Top 40&5 - February 8, 1965}}</ref>
Ellis performed "The Name Game" on major television programs of the day, including [[Hullabaloo]], [[American Bandstand]], and [[Merv Griffin]]. "The Name Game" has been recorded by dozens of recording artists in the years since, notably [[Laura Branigan]], whose version produced by [[Jeff Lorber]], appearing on her 1987 album ''[[Touch (Laura Branigan album)|Touch]]'', features a classroom of third-grade schoolchildren singing along to the tongue-twisting game. The Brazilian singer [[Xuxa]] recorded a song using the same play and same sample in the song "Jogo da Rima". Often covered by relative unknowns on collections of songs for children, other cover versions have been recorded by artists as diverse (and [[campy]]) as Dean Ford and the Gaylords (1965), [[Divine (actor)|Divine]] (1980), and [[Soupy Sales]] (2002). In 1982, [[Stacy Lattisaw]] took her "rap" recording of "Attack of the Name Game" to #79 on the Hot 100. In 1993, this song was used on television as an advertisement for Little Caesar's Pizza.


==Rules==
==How the game works==
Using the name ''Katie'' as an example, the song follows this pattern:
Ellis told ''[[Melody Maker]]'' magazine that the song was based on a game she played as a child.


:Katie, Katie, bo-batie,
Using the name ''Micah'' as an example, the song follows this pattern:
:Bonana-fanna fo-fatie
:Micah, Micah, bo-bicah,
:Fee fi mo-matie
:Banana-fana fo-ficah
:Katie!
:Fee-fi-mo-icah
:Micah!


A verse can be created for any name, with ''X'' as the name and ''X−1'' as the name without the first consonant sound (if it begins with a consonant), as follows:
A verse can be created for any name, with ''X'' as the name and ''Y'' as the name without the first consonant sound (if it begins with a consonant), as follows:


:(''X''), (''X''), bo-b(''X−1'')
:(''X''), (''X''), bo-b (''Y'')
:Banana-fana fo-f(''X−1'')
:Bonana-fanna fo-f (''Y'')
:Fee-fi-mo-m(''X−1'')
:Fee fi mo-m (''Y'')
:''X''!
:''(X)''!


If the name starts with a vowel or vowel sound, the "b" "f" or "m" is inserted in front of the name.
If the name starts with a ''b'', ''f'', or ''m'', that sound simply is not repeated. For example: ''Billy'' becomes "Billy Billy ''bo-illy''"; ''Fred'' becomes "bonana fanna ''fo-red''"; ''Martha'' becomes "fee fi ''mo-artha''"<ref name="ngpage"/>


The song as originally performed gives no indication of what to do with names where the stress falls on a syllable after the first, like Anita or Antoinette, but during the live rendition of the song on ''[[The Merv Griffin Show]]'', Ellis uses the same rules as explained above ("Tallulah, Tallulah, bo-ballulah").<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7izuF4oN4c |title=Shirley Ellis • "The Name Game" • 1965 [Reelin' In The Years Archive] |last= |access-date=2024-06-04 |via=YouTube}}</ref> However, the cover version on the workout video ''[[Richard Simmons|Sweatin' to the Oldies 3]]'' (vocals by Donna Miller) suggests that the first syllable should be dropped after the name is first said; the name [[Madonna]] is sung as "Madonna-donna-bo-bonna," etc.
And if the name starts with a ''b'', ''f'', or ''m'', that sound simply is not repeated. (For example: ''Billy'' becomes "Billy Billy ''bo-illy''"; ''Fred'' becomes "banana fana ''fo-red''"; ''Marsha'' becomes "fee fi ''mo-arsha''".)


==Laura Branigan version==
Playing the game with names such as ''Alice'', ''Dallas'', ''Tucker'', ''Chuck'', ''Buck'', ''Huck'', ''Bart'', ''Art'', ''Mitch'', ''Rich'', ''Richie'', ''Maggie'', or, in British English, ''Danny'', results in [[profanity]] or crude language.
{{Infobox song
| name = Name Game
| cover = NAMEGAME.jpg
| type = single
| artist = [[Laura Branigan]]
| album = [[Touch (Laura Branigan album)|Touch]]
| released = 1988
| B-side = [[Cry Wolf (Laura Branigan song)|Cry Wolf]]
| genre = {{hlist|[[Synth-pop]]|[[Novelty song|novelty]]}}
| length = 4:10
| label = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]
| writer = {{hlist|Shirley Ellis|Lincoln Chase}}
| producer = David Kesherbaun
| chronology = Laura Branigan
| prev_title = [[Cry Wolf (Laura Branigan song)|Cry Wolf]]
| prev_year = 1988
| next_title = [[Come into My Life (Laura Branigan and Joe Esposito song)|Come into My Life]]
| next_year = 1988
}}


[[Laura Branigan]] covered the song for her 1987 fifth studio album ''[[Touch (Laura Branigan album)|Touch]]''. It was released in 1988 in the [[Philippines]] as the last single from the album. The single's B-side is "[[Cry Wolf (Laura Branigan song)|Cry Wolf]]", which was the third single from the album.
==Other Ellis hits==
While Ellis' stock in trade was [[novelty song|novelty hits]], she was not a [[one-hit wonder]]. A serious R&B singer for 10 years before that hit, Ellis also charted with "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)" (#8 pop and #16 R&B), and "The Nitty Gritty" (#8 on the Hot 100 and #4 on the [[Cash Box]] R&B chart).


===Track listings===
==Name Game in popular culture==
*'''Philippines 7-inch single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|others=Laura Branigan|title=Name Game|year=1988|id=ATR-0351|publisher=[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]}}</ref>
In ''[[Flawless (1999 film)|Flawless]]'' the song is used when [[Robert De Niro]]'s character is rehabilitating after getting a severe speech impairment following a stroke. The song is sung the 1991 movie ''[[My Girl (film)|My Girl]]'' by Vada ([[Anna Chlumsky]]) and Thomas J. ([[Macaulay Culkin]]), as well as in the 1999 drama ''[[A Walk on the Moon]]'' and the film "[[Bewitched (film)|Bewitched]]" (2005). The 1991 film ''[[Hudson Hawk]]'', starring [[Bruce Willis]], contains the line "Anna banana fo-fanna" after Sister Anna Baragli ([[Andie MacDowell]]) is captured.
#"Name Game" (edited version) – 3:44
#"[[Cry Wolf (Laura Branigan song)|Cry Wolf]]" (LP version) – 4:48


*'''Philippines 12-inch single'''<ref>{{cite AV media notes|others=Laura Branigan|title=Name Game|year=1988|id=DS-151|publisher=[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]}}</ref>
In the movie ''[[Radio Flyer (film)|Radio Flyer]]'', Mike ([[Elijah Wood]]) and Bobby ([[Joseph Mazzello]]) sing "The Name Game" using the name Buck. An episode of ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' devoted to spoofing [[music video]]s features a tribute to the opening scene of ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]'' wherein [[Darth Vader]] captures most of the cast, but they proceed to teach him "The Name Game". That episode's end credits note that [[Plucky Duck]] was intentionally excluded from that particular scene, because the name would have resulted in an obscenity. In episode 1F08 of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', entitled "[[$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)]]", [[Krusty the Clown]] sings the song, using ''[[herpes]]'' in place of a name, as part of an adults-only comedy set at [[Mr. Burns]]' casino.
#"Name Game" (extended version) – 6:32

#"Name Game" (edited version) – 3:44
In the ''Good Wilt Hunting'' episode of the series ''[[Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends]]'', a scene on a bus fades in with everyone except Frankie and Mac singing "The Name Game" with the name ''Coco'' and then ''Shut Up'' (begun by Frankie yelling, "Let's try ''SHUT UP!''"). In the episode "Room 7" of ''[[The Golden Girls]]'', [[Rose Nylund|Rose]] attempts to lighten up a car trip by singing the song, starting with the name "[[Dorothy Zbornak|Dorothy]]", who immediately slams on the brakes and orders her out of the car.
#"Cry Wolf" (LP version) – 4:48

In ''[[The Money Pit]]'', [[Tom Hanks]]' character is waiting for a building inspector to arrive when he accidentally gets trapped as the carpet he's standing on sinks through a hole in the floor. Unable to answer the bell, Hanks realizes he will be trapped until his wife ([[Shelley Long]]) returns that evening, and passes the time singing "The Name Game" using the names ''Anna'', ''Brad'', and ''Walter''. In the 1995 [[Stephen King]] novel ''[[Rose Madder (novel)|Rose Madder]]'', Norman sometimes repeats the song, using the names of various other characters in the book, as his sanity deteriorates.

In an episode of the 1990s sitcom ''[[Dinosaurs (TV series)|Dinosaurs]]'', the character Charlene tries to play the game with the baby, who has unfortunately received the name ''Ugh-Ugh-I'm-Dying-You-Idiot Sinclair''. The song is sung in the "Road Trip" episode of ''[[My Wife and Kids]]''. In an episode of ''[[Boy Meets World]]'' Cory and Shawn are in a terrible band and end up singing "Name Game" to the crowd; later they play one of Mr. Feeny's tapes, a recording of "Name Game" using the name Feeny. In the 1993 computer game ''[[Sam & Max Hit the Road]]'', while at the Dinosaur Tar Pit at [[Mount Rushmore]], the character Sam can be made to sing the song with the names of the Presidents depicted on the mountain.

==Other uses==
"The '''Name Game'''" can also refer to any of several variations on a [[word game]] also known in the [[United States]] as "States", in [[Croatia]] as "[[Kaladont]]", in [[Russia]] as "Goroda", and in [[Japan]] as "[[Shiritori]]", in which the players in turn name words in a given category beginning with the final letter of the previous word. For example, a game in which the category was "states of the United States of America" might proceed: ''Arkansas, South Dakota, Alaska...'' A game in which the category was "modern musical genres" might proceed: ''Reggaeton, new age, electronica, alt-rock...''

"The '''Name Game'''" can also refer to an ongoing game in which one person calls out the name of their victim and then turns away. The victim loses if they look to see who it is. <ref>[http://my.highschooljournalism.org/nj/pennington/hvchs/article.cfm?eid=4661&aid=76826 The Bulldog - Hopewell Valley Central High School - Article<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. The initiator usually calls out the name in a demanding way, such as "Excuse me, Joe!". Some play that the initiator loses if they are quickly discovered. In a variant, the initiator follows with "sucks!" when the victim looks.


==See also==
==See also==
*[[1964 in music]]
[[Nursery rhyme|Nursery Rhymes]]
*[[Nursery rhyme]]
[[Penis penis bo benis banana fanna fo fenis fe fi mo menis PENIS]]
*[[Swinging the Alphabet]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
<references />


{{Laura Branigan}}
==External links==
{{Authority control}}
*[http://keepkey.yochanan.net/shirley1.htm The Shirley Ellis Name Game Page]
*[http://www.cox-tv.com/namegame/ An Online Name Game]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Name Game, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Name Game, The}}
[[Category:1964 songs]]
[[Category:1964 singles]]
[[Category:1964 singles]]
[[Category:1965 singles]]
[[Category:1965 singles]]
[[Category:1988 singles]]
[[Category:Laura Branigan songs]]
[[Category:Laura Branigan songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Lincoln Chase]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records singles]]
[[Category:Patter songs]]
[[Category:Stacy Lattisaw songs]]
[[Category:Novelty songs]]

Latest revision as of 23:20, 11 January 2025

This article is about the song. For the word games, see word chain and Shiritori. For the American Horror Story: Asylum episode, see The Name Game (American Horror Story).
"The Name Game"
Single by Shirley Ellis
from the album The Name Game
B-side"Whisper to Me Wind"
ReleasedNovember 1964 (1964-11)[1]
Genre
Length2:39
LabelCongress
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Charles Calello

"The Name Game" is a song co-written and performed by Shirley Ellis[2] as a rhyming game that creates variations on a person's name.[3] She explains through speaking and singing how to play the game. The first verse is done using Ellis's first name; the other names used in the original version of the song are Lincoln, Arnold, Tony, Billy, Marsha, and Nick.

History

[edit]

Written by American singer Shirley Ellis (who based the song on a game she played as a child[3]) and Lincoln Chase. Ellis's recording, produced by Charles Calello, was released in late 1964 as "The Name Game". The record scored third on the Billboard Hot 100, and fourth on the magazine's R&B charts during 1965. The record was re-released in 1966 and again in 1973. An R&B singer for 10 years before that success, Ellis was also successful with "The Clapping Song (Clap Pat Clap Slap)" (No.8 pop and No.16 R&B), and "The Nitty Gritty" (No.8 on the Hot 100 and No.4 on the Cash Box R&B chart). Ellis performed on then-major television programs, including Hullabaloo, American Bandstand and The Merv Griffin Show. It later became a popular children's singalong.[3] In Canada it reached No. 2.[4]

Rules

[edit]

Using the name Katie as an example, the song follows this pattern:

Katie, Katie, bo-batie,
Bonana-fanna fo-fatie
Fee fi mo-matie
Katie!

A verse can be created for any name, with X as the name and Y as the name without the first consonant sound (if it begins with a consonant), as follows:

(X), (X), bo-b (Y)
Bonana-fanna fo-f (Y)
Fee fi mo-m (Y)
(X)!

If the name starts with a b, f, or m, that sound simply is not repeated. For example: Billy becomes "Billy Billy bo-illy"; Fred becomes "bonana fanna fo-red"; Martha becomes "fee fi mo-artha"[3]

The song as originally performed gives no indication of what to do with names where the stress falls on a syllable after the first, like Anita or Antoinette, but during the live rendition of the song on The Merv Griffin Show, Ellis uses the same rules as explained above ("Tallulah, Tallulah, bo-ballulah").[5] However, the cover version on the workout video Sweatin' to the Oldies 3 (vocals by Donna Miller) suggests that the first syllable should be dropped after the name is first said; the name Madonna is sung as "Madonna-donna-bo-bonna," etc.

Laura Branigan version

[edit]
"Name Game"
Single by Laura Branigan
from the album Touch
B-side"Cry Wolf"
Released1988
Genre
Length4:10
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
  • Shirley Ellis
  • Lincoln Chase
Producer(s)David Kesherbaun
Laura Branigan singles chronology
"Cry Wolf"
(1988) 		"Name Game"
(1988) 		"Come into My Life"
(1988)

Laura Branigan covered the song for her 1987 fifth studio album Touch. It was released in 1988 in the Philippines as the last single from the album. The single's B-side is "Cry Wolf", which was the third single from the album.

Track listings

[edit]
  • Philippines 7-inch single[6]
  1. "Name Game" (edited version) – 3:44
  2. "Cry Wolf" (LP version) – 4:48
  • Philippines 12-inch single[7]
  1. "Name Game" (extended version) – 6:32
  2. "Name Game" (edited version) – 3:44
  3. "Cry Wolf" (LP version) – 4:48

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "45cat - Shirley Ellis - The Name Game / Whisper To Me Wind - Congress - USA - CG-230".
  2. ^ "The Name Game". Billboard.
  3. ^ a b c d "Three Six Nine! Shirley Ellis Name Game / Soul Time Home Page". keepkey.yochanan.net.
  4. ^ "RPM Top 40&5 - February 8, 1965" (PDF).
  5. ^ Shirley Ellis • "The Name Game" • 1965 [Reelin' In The Years Archive]. Retrieved 2024-06-04 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Name Game (Media notes). Laura Branigan. Atlantic. 1988. ATR-0351.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Name Game (Media notes). Laura Branigan. Atlantic. 1988. DS-151.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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