Small was born in Jamaica in 1946 to a family of seven brothers and five sisters. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer that she was “a sweet person… really special.”Īlso Read: Don Shula, Legendary NFL Coach of the Miami Dolphins, Dies at 90 Her song “My Boy Lollipop” charted at No. The Jamaican singer’s cause of death was a stroke, according to the BBC.
But Small, who gave birth to a daughter in 1984, was never tempted to make a comeback.Millie Small, known for her 1964 hit single “My Boy Lollipop,” has died. She lived for a time in Singapore and did shows in New Zealand and on the UK club circuit when she returned to that country.ĭuring the 1970s and 1980s when roots-reggae and lovers rock took off, the UK still had a flourishing ska scene. Small had a minor hit with Sweet William in 1964, but stopped recording in 1970. “She was very special and her passing is all too sad.” She appeared on all the top television shows and her joyful and energetic performances endeared her to us all,” Rodigan said. The world fell in love with Millie and I was smitten by the song as soon as I heard it. “The song was so popular that it made her a household name in the UK in 1964 and blazed the way for the recognition of ska music. Legendary British broadcaster David Rodigan paid tribute to Small, saying My Boy Lollipop introduced him to Jamaican music and culture. My Boy Lollipop was not as hardcore, but it outsold songs by more established white artistes signed to bigger labels. We didn’t even think of it as a ska record - it was just a good song,” said Livingston last year.Īt the time, ska acts like Prince Buster and Derrick Morgan were popular among Skinheads, rebellious white British youth. “It was played everywhere in 1964 for a Jamaican song to be played on radio like that was fantastic. It was an inspiration for aspiring singers like Dandy Livingston, who migrated to the UK in 1959. The song made an impact when there was mass migration of West Indians to the UK. Small’s version was a smash, making the US pop chart as well as other tables in Europe and Australia. It was a cover of a 1956 song called My Girl Lollypop by Barbie Gaye, an American teen singer. She was really special,” Blackwell told the Jamaica Observer.ĭistributed by Island Records subsidiary Fontana Records, My Boy Lollipop raced up the British national chart and made Small a star. She was such a sweet person, really a sweet person.
MILLIE SMALL MY BOY LOLLIPOP 1964 TV
I went with her around the world because each of the territories wanted her to turn up and do TV shows and such, and it was just incredible how she handled it.
“It became a hit pretty much everywhere in the world. It was arranged by guitarist Ernie Ranglin. My Boy Lollipop peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and also did very well in the United States. Even when she was awarded the Order of Distinction in 2011 by the Jamaican government for contribution to the country’s music industry, she did not attend the ceremony in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital. Small, who was born in rural Clarendon parish, had been a recluse for several years. Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who co-produced the song, confirmed her death in an interview with the Jamaica Observer. SOUTH FLORIDA – Millie Small, the trailblazing Jamaican singer who put ska on the map in 1964 with My Boy Lollipop, died in London on May 5 at age 73.