Legendary Jamaican Singer Millie Small Dead At 72
One of Jamaica’s pioneers in music, singer Millie Small has died. The news was confirmed by Island Records earlier today, Wednesday (May 6). According to reports Small died of a stroke.
A statement from her family indicated that she did not suffer and “passed away peacefully in London yesterday after having been taken ill at the weekend.” It further stated: “Millie Small was a true original, a wonderful human being and will be dearly missed by everyone.”
Small was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, and interestingly grew up on a sugar plantation. She was just 12-years old when she graced a stage for the first time after she won the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour singing contest. After winning the contest she moved in with relatives in Kingston to try and make music her full-time career.
She kept at her career and after a few Jamaican singles in 1962, she was noticed by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who was living in Jamaica at the time. He saw such potential in her and they formed such a special bond that he became her legal guardian and manager.
He eventually whisked her off to London in 1963 and in 1964, Small released what would become her most famous hit, an Ernest Ranglin rearrangement of the 1956 song “My Boy Lollipop”
My Boy Lollipop peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 on July 4, 1964. She went on to produce other hits, though none as big as her first. She recorded Sweet William, which peaked at No. 40 on the September 5th, 1964. Her album My Boy Lollipop also peaked at No. 132 on the Billboard 200 on August 29, 1964.
Her legal guardian and the man largely responsible for her global success, Blackwell also issued a statement about the death of the stalwart in Jamaican music.
“Millie opened the door for Jamaican music to the world. It became a hit pretty much everywhere in the world. 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. She was such a really sweet person, very funny, great sense of humour. She was really special,” he said. Small is survived by her daughter Jaelee.
She will be remembered for Jamaica’s first million-selling single My Boy Lollipop and for her role in bringing ska to the world. My Boy Lollipop is considered one of the three greatest all-time hit singles of 1964, falling just behind the Beatles and Rolling Stones.