| "Nellie the Elephant" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Mandy Miller | |
| B-side | It's Time To Dream |
| Released | October 1956 |
| Format | 7" |
| Recorded | London, 1956 |
| Length | 2:32 |
| Label | Parlophone R4219 |
| Writer(s) | Ralph Butler, Peter Hart |
| Producer | George Martin |
Nellie the Elephant is a song written in 1956 by Ralph Butler and Peter Hart about a fictional intelligent elephant of the same name.[1]
Contents |
The original version, released on Parlophone R 4219 in October 1956,[2] was recorded by English child actress Mandy Miller, with orchestra conducted by Phil Cardew.[3] It was arranged by Ron Goodwin and produced by George Martin. Although never a hit single, it was played countless times on BBC national radio in the UK in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly on "Children's Favourites".
The chorus of the song goes:
Children's author Jacqueline Wilson chose the song as one of her Desert Island Discs in October 2005.
The punk rock band Toy Dolls did a cover of this song in 1982 which was later released on the 1983 album Dig That Groove Baby. Issued as a single, it reached # 4 on the UK singles chart in late 1984.[4]
In turn, the Toy Dolls' version was covered by WC Experience as the Dutch language version "Fritske d'n Olifant"[5]
The rhythm and tempo of this song is often used to teach people the rhythm of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The recommended rate for CPR is 100 chest compressions per minute. A study at Coventry University compared the effectiveness of this song in maintaining this rhythm with an alternative of That's the Way (I Like It) and no song at all. The version used for the study was by Little Bear which was found to have a tempo of 105 beats per minute. Singing the chorus of the song twice, with a compression on each beat, results in exactly 30 compressions, which is the international standard for CPR.[6]
The use of Nellie resulted in correct timing for 42 out of 130 cases, as compared with 15 for no music and just 12 for That's the Way. However, the depth of compression was found to be inadequate in most of those cases and the use of Nellie was found to increase this slightly, as compared with the use of no music (56% too shallow with Nellie and 47% without).[6]