Pioneer or not?

• Millie Small's Order of Distinction comes many years late

Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Given her reclusive nature, it is unlikely singer Millie Small will be at King's House on Monday to receive her Order of Distinction for contribution to the development of Jamaican music.

It is hard to fathom that it is the first time she will be honoured by the Jamaican Government. The overdue recognition comes 47 years after she rocketed to stardom with the ska ditty, My Boy Lollipop.

For the last 35 years, Small's life has been something of a mystery. There have been rumours of her being indigent in London or living in Germany.

Truth is, Small still lives in London where she has called home since the early 1960s when she hit it big with Lollipop. Her name pops up every now and then when record companies like Trojan reissue her songs.

Small (born Dolly May Small in Clarendon) had won the popular Vere Johns talent contest, and first recorded for producer Clement 'Coxson' Dodd's Studio One label in 1963.

She and Roy Panton did some well-received songs, including We'll Meet, but it was My Boy Lollipop that turned the pop world upside down.

The song was originally done in 1956 by 15-year-old American singer Barbie Gaye, but the original was nowhere as successful as Small's version eight years later.

Produced by Chris Blackwell, My Boy Lollipop was arranged by guitarist Ernie Ranglin. It was a massive hit, reaching number two on the British and American pop charts.

It earned the 17-year-old Small instant fame and gave Blackwell's fledgling company, Island Records, a place in the competitive British music scene.

Small had smaller hits in Britain, most notably Sweet William and Bloodshot Eyes, but she will always be remembered for My Boy Lollipop.

Though she set the pace for other Jamaican hitmakers in Britain (Desmond Dekker, Dave Barker and Ansell Collins, Ken Boothe and Junior Murvin), Small's role as a trailblazer has been a matter of dispute.

American writer David Katz, author of the book Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae, says that is understandable.

"With Millie, it depends on your point of view. It is true that My Boy Lollipop was an unprecedented smash ... unbelievably popular, and it gave Chris Blackwell the funds he needed to launch Island properly in the UK," Katz reasoned.

"However, it was a cover tune, and Chris picked her to sing it, and brought her to London to record it with Ernest Ranglin," Katz added. "So, whether she is a 'pioneer' really depends on what you think of her and her career."

Within four years of its release, Jamaican pop music exploded in Britain.

Dekker hit it big with Israelites, followed by Barker and Collins' funky Double Barrell in 1969.

In the mid and late 1970s Boothe (Everything I Own), Murvin (Police and Thieves) and Althea and Donna (Uptown Top Ranking) all invaded the British national chart.

Fifteen years later, it was the turn of Chaka Demus and Pliers who had several songs on the British chart.

Millie Small may not be as familiar as her predecessors to the dancehall generation, but her contribution as a pacesetter is indisputable.