Where I Got my Nickname

In the very early 1970's, say Christmas 1970,  I was in the Navy machinist mate A school, in Great Lakes, Illinois. A friend of mine at the time started calling me Elly. He did that because he said he gave all of his friends nicknames. Of course I didn't care for that name, so he shortened it to Eli, because of the song from 3 Dog Night.  I spell it Ely, but no one else does. Anyway, my wife of 45 years still calls me that. Here is the song: