Millie Small

Country: Jamaica

Millie Small (6 October 1947 – 5 May 2020) was a pioneering Jamaican singer best known for her 1964 international hit "My Boy Lollipop", which reached number two in both the UK and US charts and sold over seven million copies worldwide. Born in Clarendon, Jamaica, she began her career by winning the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour talent contest at age twelve. She recorded early local hits with Owen Gray and Roy Panton before being discovered by Chris Blackwell, who brought her to London to develop her career. Her ska-infused rendition of "My Boy Lollipop" became a global sensation, establishing her as the Caribbean's first international recording star and earning Island Records its first major success. Following her breakthrough, Millie toured extensively across Britain, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and South America, appearing on British TV shows like Top of the Pops and even performing at the 1964 New York World's Fair. She released albums including More Millie (UK) and My Boy Lollipop (US), recorded duets with Jackie Edwards, and featured in television specials and the Beatles TV program Around the Beatles. Despite the early success, her subsequent recordings saw more modest chart performance, and by the late 1960s her contracts with Island and Fontana ended. In the 1970s, she recorded briefly with Trojan Records, including the politically-themed single "Enoch Power," before largely stepping back from the music industry. In her later life, Millie lived in Singapore for a few years before settling in the UK. She made occasional public appearances, received a Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2011 for her contribution to Jamaican music, and gave her first in-depth interview in 2016, revealing she had not received royalties for her iconic hit. Millie Small passed away in London on 5 May 2020 at the age of…

Following her breakthrough, Millie toured extensively across Britain, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and South America, appearing on British TV shows like Top of the Pops and even performing at the 1964 New York World's Fair. She released albums including More Millie (UK) and My Boy Lollipop (US), recorded duets with Jackie Edwards, and featured in television specials and the Beatles TV program Around the Beatles. Despite the early success, her subsequent recordings saw more modest chart performance, and by the late 1960s her contracts with Island and Fontana ended. In the 1970s, she recorded briefly with Trojan Records, including the politically-themed single "Enoch Power," before largely stepping back from the music industry.

In her later life, Millie lived in Singapore for a few years before settling in the UK. She made occasional public appearances, received a Commander in the Order of Distinction in 2011 for her contribution to Jamaican music, and gave her first in-depth interview in 2016, revealing she had not received royalties for her iconic hit. Millie Small passed away in London on 5 May 2020 at the age of 72 from a stroke. She is remembered as a trailblazer who popularized ska internationally and became one of Jamaica’s most influential female recording artists.