Millie Small facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Millie Small CD
Small arriving at Schiphol Airport from Jamaica in 1964
Background information
Birth name	Millicent Dolly May Small
Also known as	Millie, Little Millie Small, Millie Small
Born	(1947-10-06)6 October 1947 Clarendon, Jamaica
Died	5 May 2020(2020-05-05) (aged 72) London, England
Genres	Blue beat, ska, reggae
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1962–1972
Labels	Studio One, Fontana, Island, Trojan
Associated acts	Owen Gray Jackie Edwards

Millicent Dolly May Small (born October 6, 1947 – died May 5, 2020) was a famous singer and songwriter from Jamaica. She is best known for her huge hit song, "My Boy Lollipop", released in 1964.

This song became super popular, reaching number two on music charts in both the UK and the US. It sold over seven million copies all around the world! It was also the very first big hit for Island Records, a famous music company, and helped them become well-known. Millie was the first international music star from the Caribbean and the most successful female singer from that region.

Early Life and Music Career

Millicent Dolly May Small was born on October 6, 1947, in Clarendon, Jamaica. Her father was a manager on a sugar farm. She was one of 13 children, with seven brothers and five sisters.

Like many Jamaican singers back then, her music journey started when she won a talent show called Vere Johns Opportunity Hour at just twelve years old. She wanted to be a singer, so she moved to Kingston to live with relatives.

She tried out for Coxsone Dodd, a music producer at Studio One. He was very impressed by how much her voice sounded like Shirley Goodman's, from the American duo Shirley and Lee. Dodd had her sing with Owen Gray, and they made several songs together, including "Sugar Plum," which became a hit song in Jamaica.

When Owen Gray started singing by himself again, Millie began recording music with another singer, Samuel Augustus "Roy" Panton. As the duo Roy & Millie, they had many hit songs in Jamaica, like "We'll Meet." They also had more success working with Dodd and with producer Lindon Pottinger, including the local hit "Marie" in 1963. Later, they worked with Prince Buster.

Her growing popularity caught the eye of Chris Blackwell, a businessman from both England and Jamaica. He believed she could become famous worldwide and became her manager and took care of her legally. In late 1963, he brought her to Forest Hill, London. There, she received lots of training in dancing and how to speak clearly.

Becoming an International Star

Millie Small performing in Helsinki, Finland in December 1964

Her first song recorded in London, "Don't You Know," didn't become very popular when it was released by Fontana Records in late 1963. But for her next song, Blackwell hired guitarist and arranger Ernest Ranglin to help. Ranglin and his musicians used the popular new ska music style. His new version of "My Boy Lollipop" became an instant success. This song was first released in the US by teenager Barbie Gaye in late 1956.

Released in March 1964, Millie's version (where she was simply called "Millie") was a huge hit. She appeared on British TV shows like Top of the Pops. The song reached number two on the music charts in the UK, the US Billboard Hot 100, and Canada. It also topped the charts in Australia. At first, it sold over 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Including sales of singles, album uses, and appearances on other music collections, the song has now sold more than seven million copies worldwide. This made Millie an international star at just 17 years old.

"My Boy Lollipop" was important for two reasons in British pop music history. It was the first big hit for Island Records. (Even though it was released on the Fontana label because Chris Blackwell, Island's owner, didn't want to use up his company's small funds. In the US, the record came out on Smash Records, a part of Mercury Records.) Millie was also the first artist to have a hit song in the blue beat style, which was an early form of reggae music. On the single's label in the US, she was called "The Blue Beat Girl."

She toured in Britain and was often on British television. However, she became very tired and got food poisoning. She was also in a car accident. Her next song, "Sweet William," was not as successful, reaching number 30 in the UK, number 40 in the US, and number 22 in Canada. But she was still a global celebrity.

She received a gold record in New York. When she returned to Kingston, she was driven in an open-top car. She performed in several big shows, once even performing before Otis Redding, Patti LaBelle, and Inez and Charlie Foxx. She also performed in a Ska Spectacular show at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Her first album, More Millie, had many different songs arranged by Ranglin. In the US, it was called My Boy Lollipop and had slightly different songs. Her early Jamaican recordings were also re-released because she was so popular. She appeared on Beatles' TV special Around the Beatles in 1964. On December 28, 1964, she was also in an ITV show called Play of the Week episode "The Rise and Fall of Nellie Brown." She played the character Selina Brown. The play included several songs written by Dolores Claman and sung by Millie.

In early 1965, she was featured in a Ready, Steady, Go! special called Millie in Jamaica. Soon after, she went on a world tour, performing in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, the US, Brazil, and Argentina. On March 6, 1965, Millie appeared on the Australian TV show Bandstand. This was part of a concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, during the Moomba Festival. She sang "My Boy Lollipop," "What Am I Living For," and "See You Later, Alligator."

She recorded several songs with Jackie Edwards in 1965, as well as her own songs. But these didn't sell as well. She also released her second album, Millie Sings Fats Domino, but it didn't make it onto the music charts. Her eighth single in Britain, a version of Wynonie Harris' "Bloodshot Eyes," was her last UK chart success, reaching number 48 in late 1965. However, she continued to tour successfully in Australia and Africa.

Her popularity in Britain seemed to decrease as she spent more time touring abroad. In 1968, after two albums called The Best of Jackie & Millie, her music contracts with Island and Fontana ended.

When reggae music became popular in the United Kingdom in 1969, Millie started recording again. She released the song "My Love and I," with the band Symarip backing her. She then recorded for the Trojan label. Her first song there combined a version of Nick Drake's "Mayfair" with her own song, "Enoch Power." This song was about politics and was very strong, so it was banned from radio. But it helped her become known again among the British Caribbean community. However, after a short time with President Records, she stopped recording music soon after.

Millie continued to tour and perform in Jamaica. But in 1971, she decided to move to Singapore to live. She returned to Britain in 1973, when another collection of her songs, Lollipop Reggae, was released. After that, she mostly stayed out of the public eye. This was true even when "My Boy Lollipop" was re-released and appeared on the UK charts again in 1987, reaching number 46, to celebrate Island Records' 25th anniversary.

Later Life

In 1987, during a rare interview, it was revealed that Millie was struggling financially and living in a hostel with her young daughter, Jaelee. In November 1987, she made a rare public appearance in Jamaica to receive the Medal of Appreciation from Prime Minister Edward Seaga. In 2006, it was said that she was making new recordings after spending some years writing, painting, and raising her daughter.

On August 6, 2011, which was Jamaica's 49th independence day, the Governor-General made Millie a Commander in the Order of Distinction. This was for her important work in the Jamaican music industry. The award was accepted for her by Edward Seaga. In July 2012, she said again that she had been recording new music and planned to perform in Jamaica for the first time in over 40 years.

After almost forty years away from the spotlight and saying no to most interview requests, Millie gave her first detailed interview to US journalist Tom Graves. This was in the August 2016 edition of Goldmine magazine. Before this, interviews were usually short and based on press releases. In this interview, she talked fully about her early career and how much "My Boy Lollipop" impacted her life. She also insisted that Rod Stewart played the harmonica on "My Boy Lollipop," even though he denied it. She said she remembered the recording sessions well and recalled Stewart being asked to play. Millie also said in 2016 that she had not received any money from the sales of the single.

Personal Life

Millie had a short, friendly relationship with Peter Asher from the 1960s music group Peter & Gordon. In her August 2016 interview, she said their relationship was just a close friendship, not romantic.

She lived in Singapore from 1971 to 1973 before moving back to the United Kingdom. She lived there for the rest of her life. In 1984, she had a daughter named Jaelee. Jaelee studied art and music and is also a singer-songwriter.

Death

Millie Small passed away on May 5, 2020, in London, from a stroke. She was 72 years old. News of her death was first shared with the Jamaica Observer by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. He had last met Millie about 12 years before she died. He remembered her as "a very special sweet person" with a "great sense of humour." Blackwell also gave her credit for making ska music popular around the world starting in 1964, saying "it was her first hit record."

Discography

Albums

• My Boy Lollipop (1964, UK: Fontana, US: Smash)
• Time Will Tell (1970/2004, Trojan)
• My Boy Lollipop and 31 Other Songs (1994, DE: Combo Records)

Singles

Source:

See also

• Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• List of reggae musicians
• List of ska musicians
• List of stage names
• Music of Jamaica