My Boy Lollipop

"My Boy Lollipop" is a song written in the mid-1950s and usually credited to Robert Spencer, Morris Levy and Johnny Roberts. It was originally recorded by the American singer Barbie Gaye and became a minor Rhythm & Blues hit in late 1956, spelled "My Boy Lollypop" on the original 78 record label. It is most famous, however, for the 1964 recording by Jamaican singer Millie Small which is considered the first international ska hit.^[1]

The Barbie Gaye version

The song was apparently written by singer Bobby Spencer of doo-wop group The Cadillacs, whose manager Johnny Roberts was also credited as co-writer. It was recorded (as "My Boy Lollypop") in 1956 by then-15 year old singer Barbie Gaye. Her version, with a similar rhythm to the later Millie Small recording, was a minor hit played on radio by Alan Freed, and she appeared in Freed's annual Christmas show at the New York Paramount in 1956.^[2] She also inspired singer/songwriter Ellie Greenwich to issue her first record as "Ellie Gaye". Spencer's name was later removed from the writing credits and replaced by that of unscrupulous record company executive Morris Levy, who apparently claimed that Spencer's name had been his pseudonym.^[3]

The Millie Small version

The song was discovered by Chris Blackwell, who was trying to find songs for Millie Small to record. Millie's version was recorded in a ska/bluebeat-style, and in 1964 it became her breakthrough blockbuster hit in the United Kingdom, reaching #2. It also went to #1 in Republic of Ireland and #2 in the United States. "My Boy Lollipop" was the first record to help Blackwell's Jamaican label, Island Records, make millions. With over seven million copies sold, it remains one of the best-selling reggae/ska hits.^[1]

The record's arrangement is credited to Ernest Ranglin, who also plays guitar on the recording. A persistent rumor claims the not yet famous Rod Stewart performed the harmonica solo on the recording^[1]; Contrary to legend, the harmonica player was not Rod Stewart but Jimmy Powell of The Five Dimensions (previously a member of The Rockin' Berries).^[4] Powell personally asserts that it was he, not fellow Five Dimensions member Pete Hogman, who played this solo, contrary to many citations.

British reggae DJ David Rodigan has stated that watching Millie Small perform the song at the Ready Steady Go! TV show as a school boy initiated his life-long passion for Jamaican music.^[5]

Cover versions and other uses

• Schlager singer Heidi Bachert recorded a cover version, under the same title but with German lyrics, which entered the West German Top 20 on August 15, 1964^[6], remaining there for 17 weeks, with #5 as top position^[7]
• Yugoslav new wave band VIA Talas released a cover version of the song in 1981, with lyrics in Serbian language entitled "Lilihip", on the Artistička radna akcija various artists compilation.
• A cover version by Bad Manners, re-titled "My Girl Lollipop (My Boy Lollipop)", was a UK Top 10 hit in 1982.
• An excerpt of the song was used as background music during the Miami Vice season one finale episode "Lombard"
• Swedish dansband Lotta & Anders Engbergs Orkester covered the song with lyrics Swedish by Christer Lundh, as "På min sommaräng" ("On my summer meadow") with Lotta Engberg on lead vocals, on the 1989 album Genom vatten och eld. This version also appears on the 2006 Lotta Engberg compilation Världens bästa Lotta.
• In 1997, the song was featured in the Spice Girls' film Spice World, showing the girls and two young competition winners singing along with the Millie record version in a speeding boat on the River Thames.^[8]
• Steven Seagal covered the song on his 2005 Songs from the Crystal Cave album. The word "boy" has been exchanged for "girl" in the lyrics, and the song retitled to simply Lollipop.
• A cover was done by Shivaree.
• The King Blues covered the song and included it on the 2008 album Under the Fog as a hidden track.
• The German band die Lollipops has produced a song entitled Hallo Lollipop, set to the same melody as the original, but with lyrics in German.
• Rush Limbaugh uses the song as the "Barney Frank Update Theme."
• Often used in a medley for choreography.
• In May 2009, it was reported that acclaimed British soul singer Amy Winehouse had covered the song for Island Records' 50th Anniversary album.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Millie Small biography at AMG
2. ^ "My Boy Lollypop"
3. ^ Rob Finnis and Tony Rounce, Booklet with CD "You Heard It Here First", Ace Records CDCHD1204, 2008
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ David Rodigan Biography at the Radio Academy web site
6. ^ [2]
7. ^ .[3]
8. ^ Clip from "Spice World" that features the song

External links

• Songfacts for My Boy Lollipop