Singer Millie Small has died at the age of 73, it has been confirmed.
The singer, who was most famous for her hit single My Boy Lollipop, died after suffering a stroke.
The founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, announced the sad news, paying tribute to the "really special" singer.
Praising her hit single, he told the Jamaica Observer: "I would say she's the person who took ska international because it was her first hit record.
"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."
He continued: "She was such a sweet person, really a sweet person. Very funny, great sense of humour. She was really special," said Blackwell.
British actor Vas Blackwood is among those paying tribute to Small.
Small was born in Clarendon, Jamaica, daughter to a sugar plantation overseer, and was one of seven brothers and five sisters.
She won a talent contest at the age of 12, and moved to Kingston to pursue her singing career. She recorded with Roy Panton for Sir Coxone Dodd's Studio One label, and her and Panton became a prolific singing duo in Jamaica.
Blackwell took an interest in Small after releasing some of her records on Island Records, then in its infancy, and he took Small to London to record music in 1963.
Her 1964 recording of My Boy Lollipop became a global hit, helping to popularise ska music all over the world.
