Jamaican singer Millie Small has died of a stroke, 73 years old, says her friend and former percentage Chris Blackwell of the Jamaica Observer.
With the hit song My boy Lollipop, she - and Jamaica - got her first single, which sold more than a million copies. The song was the third best-selling in 1964, after songs by the Beatles and Rolling Stones and Millie Small are usually hailed as the one who introduced the genre to England where she had come the year before. During the recording, a very young Rod Stewart participated in harmonica which according to Millie Small showed how big he would become, writes The Mirror.
Her own interpretation of My boy Lollipop is still regarded as one of the best selling skull and reggae singles ever, writes the Jamaica Observer. According to Millie Small's 2006 producer, Arley Cha, it is still played daily on American radio.
In 1965, Millie Small also made a detour to Sweden and sang in Västerås Folket hus and in Örebro in connection with the city's 700th anniversary.