To celebrate Black History Month, and to honour the contributions that Black songwriters and composers have made to the music industry, PRS Members’ Fund have interviewed Fund beneficiary Jaelee Small.
Jaelee is the daughter of Jamaican singer-songwriter Millie Small, who died last May. Her hit single My Boy Lollipop reached number two in both US and the UK chart in 1964 and remains one of the biggest-selling ska songs of all the time, with more than seven million sales.
Discussing Black History Month, Jaelee says: ‘During this Black History Month I would like to encourage everyone to reflect on the immense contribution of black immigrant communities to the cultural life in Britain and how much richer and joyful our lives are for the wonderful music, art and drama that my mom and thousands of others have brought into mine and your lives.’
Jaelee Small appeared in last night’s virtual edition of PRS Presents. You can watch the video interview below.
The Fund also took the opportunity to interview trustee Mike Lindup, founding member, keyboard player and vocalist of the band Level 42.
Discussing Black History Month, Lindup states: ‘BHM highlights the fragile nature of our humanity and addresses mistakes made in the past, which we can no longer commit or deny.’
Watch the interview in full below.
