World of Jamaican Music

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An illustrated map of the creators of Jamaican music and how they are connected.

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Millie Small

Artist. Ska

Active
1962-1970
Sunrise
October 6, 1946, Vere, Clarendon, Jamaica
Sunset
May 5, 2020, London, England (stroke)
Also known as
The Blue Beat Girl, Little Millie

Millie Small was the first Jamaican artist to have a hit outside the Caribbean. "My Boy Lollipop," released in 1964, reached number two in both Britain and the United States and sold in the millions, though the British industry, seeing no follow-up on the same scale, went on treating ska as a novelty.

She was born Millicent Dolly May Small in Clarendon on October 6, 1946, one of a large family; her father was an overseer on a sugar estate. She won a Vere Johns Opportunity Hour contest in Montego Bay at twelve and moved to Kingston, recording for Coxsone Dodd at Studio One, first in a duo with Roy Panton. "We'll Meet," issued as by Roy and Millie in 1962, was a local hit and was what brought her to the attention of Chris Blackwell.

Blackwell took her to London late in 1963, becoming her manager and legal guardian, and chose for her an American record from the 1950s by Barbie Gaye, "My Boy Lollipop." Ernest Ranglin arranged it as ska. Blackwell put it out on Fontana rather than on Island, whose resources he did not want to overextend, and on Smash in the United States, where she was billed as the Blue Beat Girl. Released in March 1964, it reached number 2 in Britain; the Guardian credited her "sweet, charming and high-pitched" voice as well as the novelty of the sound. The harmonica solo has been attributed to Rod Stewart for sixty years; Small maintained he played it and Stewart has always denied it.

She toured constantly for the next two years, appeared on the ITV special Around the Beatles in May 1964, and had a further British hit with "Sweet William." She was also part of the delegation of singers, musicians and dancers that Edward Seaga's government sent to the New York World's Fair in 1964 to promote ska, singing at the Singer Bowl with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Nothing after it approached the first record. She recorded into the early 1970s, lived in Singapore from 1971 to 1973, and then withdrew from performing altogether, living quietly in England for the rest of her life. She said in a 2016 interview that she had never received royalties for "My Boy Lollipop."

She was made a Commander of the Order of Distinction in 2011. She departed in London on May 5, 2020, following a stroke, and is survived by her daughter Jaelee, a singer. Blackwell, announcing her sunset, said she had opened the door for Jamaican music to the world.

Last updated November 5, 2026

Connections

Notes

  1. Bradley calls it "a massive, world-wide hit (the first by a Jamaican)." Lloyd Bradley, This Is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica's Music (New York: Grove Press, 2001), 151.
  2. Bradley: "Because there was no serious follow-up other than Millie's diminishing returns, the British music business looked on ska as a flash in the pan ... and became, ironically, even more resistant to it." Bradley, This Is Reggae Music, 152. On the record itself: it sold "over 6 million world-wide" and reached number 2, the seventh biggest-selling UK single of the year. Bradley, This Is Reggae Music, 151. The UK chart run was eighteen weeks, peaking at number 2. "Millie," artist page, Official Charts, accessed October 4, 2026, https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/11030/millie/. It also reached number 2 in the United States. "Millie Small, Singer of 'My Boy Lollipop,' Dies at 72," Variety, May 6, 2020, https://variety.com/2020/music/news/millie-small-my-boy-lollipop-dead-dies-1234599839/.
  3. The National Library of Jamaica gives October 6, 1946, in Vere, Clarendon: "Millicent Small (1946-2020)," National Library of Jamaica, accessed October 21, 2026, https://nlj.gov.jm/?p=27968. The Gleaner notes that she gave her age as 70 in 2017, which would mean 1947: Yasmine Peru, "Happy Birthday, Millie Small!," Jamaica Gleaner, October 6, 2020, https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20201006/happy-birthday-millie-small-pioneer-paved-way-women-bob-marley. The Guardian gives 1946; Wikipedia gives October 6, 1947. Ben Beaumont-Thomas, "Millie Small, My Boy Lollipop Singer, Dies Aged 73," Guardian, May 6, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/may/06/millie-small-my-boy-lollipop-singer-dies-aged-73. "Millie Small," Wikipedia, accessed October 4, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millie_Small. The Rough Guide gives 1942 and calls her "22-year-old" in 1964, while Bradley notes that her age at the time "ranges between 14 and 22, depending who you believe." Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd ed. (London: Rough Guides, 2004), 26, 384. Bradley, This Is Reggae Music, 151.
  4. Wikipedia says she won the Vere Johns Opportunity Hour at twelve and that Dodd first paired her with Owen Gray before she recorded with Roy Panton. "Millie Small." The Rough Guide lists both Owen & Millie and Roy & Millie among the duos of the period. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 29, 35.
  5. The Guardian says Blackwell discovered her after "We'll Meet" topped the Jamaican charts. Beaumont-Thomas, "Millie Small." Wikipedia credits Roy Robinson as its producer. "Millie Small." The Rough Guide lists "Roy (Panton) & Millie's 'We'll Meet.'" Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 30. A period profile of Panton that Augustyn reprints says "We'll Meet" came out "on the E&R label" and "made the No. 1 spot on the Hit Parade," and Panton recalls that it was the record that drew Blackwell to her voice: Heather Augustyn, "Roy Panton: Over 50 Years of Sweet Song," SkaBook (blog), March 6, 2015, https://skabook.com/2015/03/06/roy-panton-50-years-sweet-song/.
  6. "Millie Small." Beaumont-Thomas, "Millie Small."
  7. The Rough Guide dates Barbie Gaye's record to 1958; the Guardian and Wikipedia give 1956; Discogs dates the Darl single to 1957. Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 26. Beaumont-Thomas, "Millie Small." "Barbie Gaye: My Boy Lollypop / Say You Understand," Discogs, accessed October 4, 2026, https://www.discogs.com/master/235060. On Ranglin's role: Barrow and Dalton, Rough Guide to Reggae, 384.
  8. Bradley: Blackwell licensed it to Fontana "on the grounds that it was a pop record and therefore needed support services way beyond Island's back-of-a-van capabilities." Bradley, This Is Reggae Music, 152. Wikipedia gives the Smash release and the "Blue Beat Girl" billing. "Millie Small."
  9. It entered the UK chart in March 1964. "Millie," Official Charts. "Millie Small, My Boy Lollipop Singer, Dies Aged 73," Guardian, May 7, 2020, https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-guardian-usa/20200507/281603832637210.
  10. The Guardian reports that Stewart has said session player Pete Hogman played it. Beaumont-Thomas, "Millie Small."
  11. "Sweet William" reached number 30, and "Bloodshot Eyes" number 48 in 1965. "Millie," Official Charts. Wikipedia mentions Around the Beatles. "Millie Small."
  12. Augustyn counts the World's Fair "with Millie Small" among Seaga's efforts to promote the music, and places her at the Singer Bowl concert with Eric "Monty" Morris and Prince Buster, backed by the Dragonaires: Heather Augustyn, "Ska Supporter Seaga Dies," SkaBook (blog), May 29, 2019, https://skabook.com/2019/05/29/ska-supporter-seaga-dies/; Heather Augustyn, "The Flintstones at the World's Fair!," SkaBook (blog), August 20, 2015, https://skabook.com/2015/08/20/the-flintstones-at-the-worlds-fair/.
  13. The Guardian says her recording career ended in 1970 before she moved to Singapore. Beaumont-Thomas, "Millie Small." Wikipedia dates the Singapore years to 1971-73. "Millie Small."
  14. Beaumont-Thomas, "Millie Small."
  15. "Millie Small, Singer of 'My Boy Lollipop.'"
  16. Blackwell: "Millie opened the door for Jamaican music to the world." "Millie Small, Singer of 'My Boy Lollipop.'" Variety also names her daughter Jaelee.

World of Jamaican Music: the whole map