- Millie (singer)
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Millie Birth name Millicent Dolly May Small Also known as Millie Small Born 6 October 1946
Clarendon, JamaicaGenres Blue beat, ska, reggae Occupations Singer-songwriter Instruments Vocals Years active 1963–72 Labels Fontana, Trojan Millie (born Millicent Dolly May Small, 6 October 1946[1]) is a Jamaican singer-songwriter, often known as "Little Millie Small", and in the United States as "Millie Small", and is best known as the singer of the 1964 hit, "My Boy Lollipop".
Contents
Career
Millie is the daughter of a sugar plantation overseer.[1] In her teens, she and Roy Panton recorded for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One record label as 'Roy and Millie.'[1] They had a minor local hit with "We'll Meet".[1]
In late 1963 she went to Forest Hill, London, to make her fourth recording, an Ernest Ranglin rearrangement of "My Boy Lollipop", originally released by Barbie Gaye in late 1956. Released in March 1964, Small's cover was a massive hit, reaching number two both in the UK Singles Chart[2] and in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the chart in Australia. Initially it sold over 600,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[3] She also had minor UK hits with 2 follow-up singles. Later in 1964 peaking at #30 with Sweet William and #48 with Bloodshot Eyes Including singles sales, album usage and compilation inclusions, the song has since sold more than seven million copies worldwide.[1]
"My Boy Lollipop" was doubly significant in British pop music history. It was the first major hit for Island Records (although it was actually released via Fontana Records because Chris Blackwell, Island's owner, did not want to overextend the label's then-meagre resources; in the U.S. the record appeared on the Smash Records subsidiary of Mercury Records), and Small was the first artist to have a hit that was recorded in the bluebeat style. (She was billed as 'The Blue Beat Girl' on the single's label in the U.S.)[1] This was a music genre that had recently emerged from Jamaica, and which, as with ska, was a direct ancestor of reggae.
She appeared on the 1964 Beatles TV special Around The Beatles.
Millie continued to tour and perform up to the early 1970s.
On 6 August 2011, being the 49th anniversary of the country's independence, the Governor-General of Jamaica conferred the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) upon Millicent (Millie) Dolly May Small, for her contribution to the Jamaican music industry.[4]
Personal life
She had a brief relationship with Peter Asher of the 1960s duo Peter & Gordon.[5]
She lived in Singapore from 1971 to 1973 before returning to the UK which is now her home.[6] She has an adult daughter, who is studying art and the music industry.[6]
Discography
Albums
- My Boy Lollipop (1964, Smash)
- Time Will Tell (1970/2004, Trojan)
Singles
- Shenley Duffas: "Give to Get" b/w Shenley & Millie: "What You Gonna Do", 7": Island WI 036, 1963
Year Single Label 1963 "Don't You Know" / "Until You're Mine" Fontana 1964 "My Boy Lollipop" "Sweet William" "I Love the Way You Love" / "Bring It on Home to Me" 1965 "I've Fallen in Love with a Snowman" / "What Am I Living For" "See You Later Alligator" / "Chilly Kisses" "My Street" / "It's Too Late" "Bloodshot Eyes" / "Tongue Tied" 1966 "My Street" / "A Mixed Up Fickle Moody Self-Centred, Spoiled Kind of Boy" Brit "Killer Joe" / "Carry Go Bring Come" Fontana 1967 "You Better Forget" / "I Am in Love" Island "Chicken Feed" / "Wings of a Dove" Fontana 1968 "When I Dance with You" / "Hey Mr. Love" 1969 "Readin' Writin' Arithmetic" / "I Want You Never to Stop" Decca - Millie was not a one-hit wonder. For example, subsequent recordings such as "Sweet William" and "Bloodshot Eyes", both charted in the UK at numbers 30 and 48, respectively.[2]
See also
- List of reggae musicians
- List of ska musicians
- Music of Jamaica
- Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
- British African-Caribbean community
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
- List of stage names
References
- ^ a b c d e f Allmusic biography
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 367. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 178–79. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ^ "Dennis Brown, Millie Small & Dobby Dobson Get National Awards". Dancehall.mobi. http://www.dancehall.mobi/2011/08/06/dennis-brown-millie-small-dobby-dobson-get-national-awards/. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopaedia (2000 paperback edition; first published 1992). London: Virgin Publishing, London W6 9HA. p. 403. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
- ^ a b Jamaica-gleaner.com
- Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
External links
- Millie's biography at the AMG website
- Millie biography at 45rpm website
- Biography at Answers.com
- 1964 biographical article from Teenville magazine
- Article on her 60th birthday in Jamaica Gleaner
- Millie the Perkiest Popstar Lollipops Again 1970 Mayfair article (contains risque photos)
- Discography at MusicMatch website
- The Millie Small TV Show on Finnish Television, 1964
Categories:- 1946 births
- Living people
- Jamaican female singers
- Smash Records artists
- People from Clarendon Parish
- Trojan Records artists
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