26 Facts About Millie Small

Millie Small was the Caribbean's first international recording star and its most successful female performer.

Millicent Dolly May Millie Small was born on 6 October 1947 in Clarendon, Jamaica, the daughter of a sugar plantation overseer.

Millie Small was one of 13 siblings, with seven brothers and five sisters.

Millie Small auditioned for Studio One record producer Coxsone Dodd, who was struck by the similarity of her voice to that of Shirley Goodman of the American duo Shirley and Lee.

Millie Small paired her with singer Owen Gray, and they made several records together, including "Sugar Plum", which became a local hit.

Millie Small's popularity brought her to the attention of Anglo-Jamaican entrepreneur Chris Blackwell, who was convinced of her wider international potential, and became her manager and legal guardian.

Millie Small's first recording in London, "Don't You Know", made little impact when released by Fontana Records in late 1963, but for her next recording Blackwell recruited guitarist and arranger Ernest Ranglin to oversee the session.

Millie Small appeared on British TV shows including Top of the Pops, and the single reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, in the US Billboard Hot 100, and in Canada.

Millie Small was the first artist to have a hit that was recorded in the bluebeat style, a music genre that was a direct ancestor of reggae.

Millie Small was billed as "The Blue Beat Girl" on the single's label in the US.

Millie Small toured in Britain and appeared frequently on British television, before collapsing from exhaustion and food poisoning; she was involved in a traffic accident.

Millie Small was given a gold disc in New York, and was driven in an open-top car on her return to Kingston where she performed in several major shows, on one occasion topping the bill over Otis Redding, Patti LaBelle, and Inez and Charlie Foxx.

Millie Small performed in a Ska Spectacular show at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Millie Small appeared on the 1964 Beatles TV special Around the Beatles.

On 6 March 1965, Millie Small appeared on the Australian television programme Bandstand.

Millie Small recorded several duets with Jackie Edwards in 1965, as well as solo material, but sales were disappointing.

Millie Small released her second LP record, Millie Sings Fats Domino, but it failed to reach the charts.

Millie Small continued to tour and perform in Jamaica, but in 1971 decided to move to Singapore to live.

Millie Small returned to Britain in 1973, to coincide with the release of another compilation album, Lollipop Reggae.

In 1987, during a rare interview with Thames News, it was revealed that Millie Small was penniless and had taken to living in a hostel with her toddler daughter Jaelee.

Millie Small insisted, against the denials of Rod Stewart, that it was Stewart who played harmonica on "My Boy Lollipop".

Millie Small said she remembered the sessions well and recalls Stewart being asked to play.

Millie Small said in 2016 that she had not received any royalties for the single.

Millie Small lived in Singapore from 1971 to 1973 before returning to the United Kingdom, where she lived for the remainder of her life.

Millie Small died on 5 May 2020 in London, from a stroke, aged 72.

Millie Small remembered her as "a very special sweet person" with a "great sense of humour".