Millie Small

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Millie Small was born in 1947 in Clarendon, Jamaica, the daughter of an overseer on a sugar plantation, and was one of thirteen children. She began her career at the age of twelve by winning the talent contest Vere Johns Opportunity Hour, like many Jamaican singers of that time. She then recorded with Roy Panton, as the duo Roy & Millie, with producers such as Roy Robinson, Coxsone Dodd and Lindon Pottinger. They had local hits, including We'll Meet, and in 1963 Marie.

Music and breakthrough

In London she first recorded Don't You Know, which made little impression. For her next recording Chris Blackwell brought in the guitarist and arranger Ernest Ranglin. He arranged My Boy Lollipop in the newly popular ska. In 1964 the song reached number two in both the British and American charts and sold more than seven million copies. It was the first big hit for Island Records, although it was released on the Fontana label, and it made Small an international star at seventeen. The album More Millie was released in 1964 with arrangements by Ranglin, in the United States under the title My Boy Lollipop. She appeared on the Beatles television programme Around the Beatles and made a world tour in 1965.

Influence

Her follow-up single Sweet William was less successful, and Bloodshot Eyes was her last British hit in 1965. Time Will Tell was released in 1970. She moved to Singapore in 1971 and returned to Great Britain in 1973. Millie Small died in 2020. She brought ska to a worldwide audience and paved the way for Jamaican music in British pop history.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1964More Millie
• 1964My Boy Lollipop
• 1970Time Will Tell
• 1970Time Will Tell