Oct. 6: Millie Small - "My Boy Lollipop" - is 64 today.

Millie - born Millicent Dolly May Small in 1946 - is a Jamaican singer-songwriter, often known as "Little Millie Small." her biggest hit was hit, "My Boy Lollipop," which she recorded in 1964 when she was 18 years-old.

In her teens, Millie was part of a duo with Roy Panton who recorded under the name "Roy and Millie." They had a minor local hit with "We'll Meet".

In 1963 she went to Forest Hill, London to make a recording of "My Boy Lollipop", which had been released by Barbie Gaye in late 1956. Small's cover was a massive hit, reaching number two both in the UK Singles Chart and in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the chart in Australia. Initially it sold over 600,000 copies and the record has since sold more than seven million copies worldwide.

Small is credited as the first artist to have a hit recorded in the bluebeat style - a music genre that had recently emerged from Jamaica, and which, as with ska, was a direct ancestor of reggae. On the single's label in the U.S. Millie was billed as "The Blue Beat Girl."

(Press any album cover below for direct link to the entire Amazon Website):

 

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Millie continued to tour and perform up to the early 1970s but never had another major hit record.

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