Millie Small, regarded as Jamaica’s first international chart-topper, was honored with a blue plaque outside her Shepherd’s Bush home in London last month.
The plaque was unveiled by the Nubian Jak Community Trust and Millie’s daughter, Jaelee Small. It was unveiled to a large crowd, including representatives from local London record labels, Trojan and Island Records at a recent ceremony while reggae singer, Winston Francis performed.
Millie Small, who spent the last two decades of her life living in Shepherd’s Bush died at age 72 of a stroke in 2020. She shot to international stardom with her 1964 single “My Boy Lollipop”, which sold 7 million copies, making her the world’s most successful female Caribbean singer of her time.
Her breakthrough single was also credited with ushering in the new genre of ska and reggae into the popular music scene. In unveiling the plaque, H&F Cabinet Member for Public Realm, Councillor Sharon Holder paid tribute to Small for leaving such a lasting legacy.
“We are delighted to install a heritage plaque recognizing Millie Small’s presence in the borough and her contribution to popular music. This is part of our wider program to diversify the public realm by visibly celebrating the borough’s Black heritage, history, and music all year round,” she said.
Before Marley, there was Millie
Dr. Jak Beula, CEO of the Nubian Jak Community Trust, said: “Before there was Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, or Bob Marley, there was Millie Small.
“She paved the way! She gave Island Records their first international hit, and it is an honor and a privilege to memorialize her with her first blue plaque.”
For her part, daughter Jaelee said, “It’s a tremendous honor for my mother to be recognized with a blue plaque. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.”
Born Millicent Dolly May Small in 1947 in Clarendon, Small knew she wanted to be a singer and began pursuing her career from an early age.
At the age of 12, she won a singing contest in Montego Bay, leading her to team up with reggae singer Roy Panton to form the duo Roy & Millie.
She later moved to Kingston as a teenager and successfully auditioned for legendary Studio One record producer, Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, before her musical talents caught the attention of Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell.
Blackwell heard one of Small’s local hits and started to work with her, taking her to the UK in 1963 after founding Island Records. It was Blackwell’s idea for her to cover the American rhythm and blues song, “My Boy Lollipop”, originally performed by Barbie Gaye in 1957, and it went on to become a huge hit.
The song reached number two in the charts in both the UK and US in 1964, and became Jamaica’s first million-selling single, according to the National Library of Jamaica.
In August 2011, Small received the Commander medal in the Order of Distinction, for her contribution to the Jamaican music industry. The award was accepted on her behalf by former Prime Minister Edward Seaga.
