My Boy Lollipop

Album: My Boy Lollipop (1964)
Charted: 2 2
Play Video
  • My boy lollipop
    You make my heart go giddy up
    You are as sweet as candy
    You're my sugar dandy
    Whoa oh, my boy lollipop
    Never ever leave me
    Because it would grieve me
    My heart told me so

    I love you, I love you, I love you so
    But I don't want you to know
    I need you, I need you, I need you so
    And I'll never let you go

    My boy lollipop
    You make my heart go giddy up
    You set the world on fire
    You are my one desire
    Whoa, my lollipop

    I love you, I love you, I love you so
    But I don't want you to know
    I need you, I need you, I need you so
    And I'll never let you go

    My boy lollipop
    You make my heart go giddy up
    You set the world on fire
    You are my one desire
    Whoa, my lollipop
    Whoa, my lollipop
    My boy lollipop
    My boy lollipop Writer/s: Johnny Roberts, Morris Levy
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 24

  • Nick from StaffordI am led to believe that my dad Ron Wheeler was session musician and played the double bass on the recorded version
  • Gary from ManchesterI remember seeing a UK TV pop promo of Millie singing 'My Boy Lollipop' from an open-top bus when I was 5, so that would be 1964. Can't recall what city Millie's bus was cruising through. London? Liverpool?
  • Deirdre from New Zealand Patricia- do you remember my brother, John Eddowes, first w.orking with Millie in Hornsey, North London?
  • Miled from EnglandMy father was a session musician and played the drums on my boy lollipop,he was known as Min ( Alan Mennie)
  • Mavis from Upper MidwestMy introduction to reggae! Early summer 1964, listening late at night on an unreliable transistor. Oh, but those were good days!
  • Rebecca from LondonMessage for Patricia in Hampshire! I work for a production company and am keen to find memories of Millie Small's performances. Please get in contact as I'd love to chat - rebeccastewart@7wonder.co.uk
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 14th 1965, Millie Small performed "My Boy Lollipop" on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'...
    Eleven months earlier on May 17th, 1964 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #90; and on June 28th it peaked at #2 (for 1 week) and spent 12 weeks on the Top 100...
    The week it was at #2 on the Top 100; the #1 record was "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys...
    The song was originally recorded by Barbie Gaye; it didn't make the national charts but did reached #25 on Alan Freed's Top 25 on N.Y.C.'s WINS radio station in November 1956...
    R.I.P. Mr. Freed (1921 - 1965), Jimmy O'Neil (Shindig's host, 1940 - 2013), and Ms. Small will celebrate her 68th birthday this coming October 6th.
  • Danny from Bronx, NyAccording to Wikipedia, the song was originally written as "My Girl Lollypop", and the gender was switched later (but before the song was recorded). If this is true, then the suggestion that the title is a subtle reference to oral sex (an idea which Rush Limbaugh infamously popularized by using a snippet of the song to introduce comments about an openly gay politician) could not be correct.
  • Claude from London, United KingdomThis is my Dad's favourite song. He has just told me that she is a distant relation of his. And that he would like to meet her (as I would too). My Dad was born in Clarendon too...
    Is there any way I can contact Millie? Thanks.
  • Mike from Warren, NjBarbara
    You say barbie gaye is your aunt and she's still living in NYC. I know her real name which I won't say here and believe I graduated with her in grammar school in Coney Island. Is there a way to contact her to say hello (I have a class graduation photo from 1955 that includes her photo and several of us have been searching for missing classmates).
    Thanks
    Mike
  • Adrian from Johor Bahru, MalaysiaThis song might be an indirect suggestion to oral sex.
  • Kris from Adelaide, AustraliaRod Stewart played Harmonica on the original demo recording. My boss (Stefan) was the bass player. Both were replaced for the final recording session.
  • Daevid from Glendale, CaNigel from Isle...say it ain't true------i've thought for years that it was Rod's first ever session gig playing harp on that record.
  • Mike from Upwell, United KingdomAs the label of the UK Fontana single credits Ernest ranglin with directing the accompaniment, I doubt that theory that the backing track was recorded before he arrived in Britain.
    Calling Barbie from NY: are you still there? So your aunt is Barbie Gaye? I'm a music researcher and would love to interview her, about 'Lollipop', her single on the Regalia label, and her career.
  • Geoff from Fountain Hill, PaThe previous comment is completely wrong, and disappointing coming from a fellow Brummie. Embassy records were a cheap ?cover version? label exclusive to Woolworths and issued the Joan Baxter release as a cheap alternative to the real thing (rather like the old Hallmark ?Top Of The Pops? LPs). The backing is a very good take off of the Millie one, though not the same, and Ernest Ranglin really is on the Millie one ? though not the Joan Baxter recording.
  • Gordon from Birmingham, EnglandThe backing for this song is by Gerry Glenn and his Orchestra (who were little more than a collection of session musicians). Along with the Rod Stewart myth being wrong, so is the Ernest Ranglin on guitar one. The backing track was recorded before Mille and Ernest arrived in England. The song was originally released on the Embassy label with vocals by Jean Baxter and flopped, Chris Blackwell recorded Millie's vocals and replaced Jean's with these and a hit record was born.
  • Barbara from Brooklyn, Nybarbie gaye sang my boy lolliepop frist, her manager was corky from brooklyn ny, she was young and could of made it big, but she wanted her boy friend to play the drums in her songs and they didn't want him to, thats all i know, i don't really talk to her (my aunt) about it much, but she is fine, living in nyc.
  • Patricia from Hampshire, EnglandI have been trying to find the video from the Beatles Concert 1963 when Millie sang My Boy Lollipop as I am one of the three young girls behind her in the video. This song always brings back memories of that day. Millie was ahead of her time with this one!
  • Nigel Foster from Isle Of Wight, EnglandThe legend is wrong! Rod Stewart did not play harmonica on this. It was Pete Hogman who now lives in Ryde on the Isle of Wight and is still gigging with the Pete Hogman Blues Band. And that's official!
  • Azri from Singapore, Singaporedis is the song that reminds me of me and my brother...i used to call my brother my boy lollipop...the song is one song where u listen it somewats make u happy..
  • Laura from Snohomish, WaThis song is one of my favorite "Feel Good" songs, and reminds me of my favorite place Hawaii, which is where I lived when this song was on the charts. It makes me feel young again whenever I hear it!
  • Marcus from New York, NyThis song, sung by millie small, places me back in Asbury Park, New Jersey in the early sixties. It reminds me and captures the moment of simpler times. I shall never forget the song or where I was when I heard it.
  • Julio from Newark, NjSong originally had hidden sexual meaning, that is very clear if you understand street slang.
  • Howard from St. Louis Park, MnThis was the song that put Ska on the map. Millie Small did have a minor hit with Sweet William.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Hardy

HardySongwriter Interviews

The country hitmaker talks about his debut album, A Rock, and how a nursery rhyme inspired his hit single "One Beer."

Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes

Chris Robinson of The Black CrowesSongwriter Interviews

"Great songwriters don't necessarily have hit songs," says Chris. He's written a bunch, but his fans are more interested in the intricate jams.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.