Blessed with a squeaky, high-pitched voice, Jamaican singer Millie Small was one of the pop sensations of 1964, thanks to her breakout hit single, “My Boy Lollipop,” which peaked at No. 2 in both the UK pop and US R&B charts. The record reportedly sold seven million copies worldwide, instantly transforming the teenager into an international star. Three years later, the iconic track appeared as the centerpiece of the singer’s first retrospective, The Best Of Millie Small.
The insanely catchy “My Boy Lollipop” represented a seismic moment in pop music history, when Jamaican ska music – an uptempo precursor to reggae – entered the mainstream and appeared on the radar of the wider public consciousness. The record’s phenomenal success brought the 16-year-old singer into the orbit of The Beatles, whose 1964 TV special Around The Beatles she appeared on. Her celebrity also put her on the iconic UK music show Ready, Steady, Go! and propelled her into the cast of a British television musical, The Rise & Fall Of Nellie Brown, which aired the same year. Such was her fame in the UK that she even cut a ska record called “The Bournvita Song,” promoting a hot beverage for chocolate manufacturer Cadbury’s.
The…
