My Boy Lollipop

This candy-coated hit tells a simple story about a young girl in love. She sings: My boy lollipop You make my heart go giddyup Millie Small was just 17 when the song was released.

This song was originally an R&B hit in late 1956 for a white American singer named Barbie Gaye - her version is based on a piano rhythm and has a big saxophone solo. Millie Small's rendition has more of a reggae feel and features a harmonica solo. The original is titled "My Boy Lollypop," making it more obvious that she is singing about a guy, not a piece of candy.

After she recorded a couple of songs for a label in her native Jamaica, Small (while still a teenager) was discovered by The A&R man Robert Blackwell and was brought (along with Ernest Ranglin) to England by him in late 1963 to record this; she was 17 at the time. Blackwell, along with his brother Chris, was a successful music producer who contributed to the development of reggae and ska music and helped reggae obtain international recognition. This song was the first to help his Jamaican label, Island, make millions. "I had deals with the producers in Jamaica who would send me records," Chris Blackwell recalled to Uncut magazine. "One came from Coxsone Dodd. He was king of Jamaica. It was called 'We'll Meet' by Roy & Millie, a boy and girl duo. Whenever the girl's voice came in, it would jump out. I thought, 'How can I contact this girl? Because her voice is incredible.' I went to Jamaica, and I met with her mother. I asked if I could bring her over to England and her mother said yes. I eventually found a song I thought would work for her. She had a very high-pitched voice, and I wanted to make sure that the record wasn't too long, because after a bit you'd really want to turn it off! But if we made it shorter, you'd really want to hear it again and again. I got my way. 'My Boy Lollipop' was 1 minute 58 seconds and it sold 7 million copies worldwide."