Jamaican singer Millie has died at the age of 72 after suffering a stroke.

The singer was most famous for her hit single My Boy Lollipop, which was Jamaica's first million-selling single.  The song  remains one of the biggest-selling ska songs of all time, with more than seven million sales.

Born Millicent Small in Clarendon, south Jamaica, she was one of seven brothers and five sisters, raised on the sugar plantation where her father was an overseer.

The news of her death was confirmed by her close friend and former producer Chris Blackwell.

Blackwell played a major role in Small's career,  it is reported he is the one who took her to London  in 1963 and produced her version of My Boy Lollipop, showcasing her childlike, high-pitched vocals.

"I would say she's the person who took ska international because it was her first hit record," he told the Jamaica Observer.

Adding ''"It became a hit pretty much everywhere in the world. I went with her around the world because each of the territories wanted her to turn up and do TV shows and such, and it was just incredible how she handled it. She was such a sweet person, really a sweet person. Very funny, great sense of humour. She was really special," 

In one of her interviews, Small said ''"I made a few songs, which didn't go anywhere, and then I recorded My Boy Lollipop in 1964, which got to number two over here and number one in many parts of the world. I never had singing lessons, my voice was just something I was born with."

Adding ''"My life seemed very normal to me - even though I was only 17, I took fame in its stride. What helped was that I had a good manager in Chris, who looked after me like a father wherever I went."

She retired from singing in 1970.