Kitty Kallen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kitty Kallen
Kallen in 1947
Born	Katie Kallen (1921-05-25)May 25, 1921 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	January 7, 2016(2016-01-07) (aged 94) Cuernavaca, Mexico
Spouse(s)	Bernard Granoff (1948-1996; his death); 1 child
Musical career
Genres	Jazz swing pop
Occupation(s)	Singer actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1939–1965
Labels	Columbia (1939–1948, 1956–1959) Decca (1940, 1953–1955) Mercury (1949–1951) RCA Victor (1963) 20th Century Fox (1964)

Kitty Kallen (born Katie Kallen; May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was a famous American singer. Her singing career lasted from the 1930s to the 1960s. She was popular during the Swing era with big bands and later as a solo pop artist. Kitty Kallen sang with well-known band leaders like Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James.

She is best known for her 1954 song "Little Things Mean a Lot". This song was number one on the U.S. Billboard charts for nine weeks. It was also the top song of 1954 and sold over two million copies. In 1954, she was voted "most popular female singer" by Billboard and Variety. Kitty Kallen had 13 songs that reached the top ten on the music charts during her career.

Early Life and First Steps in Music

Kitty Kallen was born Katie Kallen on May 25, 1921, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was one of seven children. Her parents, Samuel and Rose Kalinsky (who later changed their name to Kallen), were Jewish immigrants from Russia.

As a child, Kitty won a talent show by copying other singers. She won a camera as a prize. At first, her father didn't believe she had won it and thought she had stolen it. But when neighbors came to congratulate her, he realized she had truly won the prize.

Starting Her Singing Career

When she was young, Kitty Kallen sang on a radio show called The Children's Hour. As a preteen, she had her own radio show in Philadelphia. She also sang with big bands like Jan Savitt in 1936, Artie Shaw in 1938, and Jack Teagarden in 1939. She made her first recordings with Jack Teagarden's band.

In 1942, just before her 21st birthday, she sang on the song "Moonlight Becomes You" with Bobby Sherwood and His Orchestra. This was for a new record company that would soon be called Capitol Records.

Singing with Big Bands

At age 21, Kitty Kallen joined the Jimmy Dorsey band. She replaced another singer named Helen O'Connell. One of her songs with Dorsey, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old," became very popular with American soldiers in 1944. That same year, she sang on Dorsey's number-one hit song, "Besame Mucho". She often sang duets with Bob Eberly.

When Bob Eberly left to join the military in 1943, Kitty Kallen joined Harry James's band. Between 1945, she had many hit songs with Harry James. Two of them reached number one: "I'm Beginning to See the Light" and "It's Been a Long, Long Time". The song "It's Been a Long, Long Time" is still strongly connected to the end of World War II and soldiers coming home.

Solo Success and Challenges

After World War II, Kitty Kallen started her solo career. She moved between different record labels, but she didn't have a major hit until she signed with Decca Records in 1953.

In 1954, her song "Little Things Mean a Lot" became a huge success. It was called a "monster hit" by AllMusic. Music expert Jonny Whiteside said the song showed how well Kallen moved from big band swing to modern pop music. She followed this hit with "In the Chapel in the Moonlight", which also sold over a million copies. She also recorded a version of "True Love".

Kitty Kallen performed in many famous places, including the Copacabana in Manhattan. She also appeared on Broadway in Finian's Rainbow and in the 1955 movie The Second Greatest Sex. She was a guest on many TV shows, such as The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and American Bandstand.

In 1956, rock-and-roll music became very popular, and many older singers found it hard to stay on the charts. Kitty Kallen faced some personal challenges during this time. She found it difficult to sing live in front of an audience, though she could still record in the studio. She decided to take a break from performing.

Three years later, she decided to make a comeback and signed with Columbia Records. In 1959, she recorded "If I Give My Heart to You". In 1963, she had another best-selling song, "My Coloring Book", for RCA Victor. Her last album was Quiet Nights, which had a bossa nova style. After this, she stopped recording music for good.

During her most popular years, some people pretended to be Kitty Kallen. In 1978, when one of these imposters died, it was wrongly reported that Kitty Kallen herself had passed away. On February 8, 1960, Kitty Kallen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

You can still find a collection of her hit songs on the Sony CD set called The Kitty Kallen Story.

Family Life

While singing with Jack Teagarden's band, Kitty Kallen married Clint Garvin, the band's clarinet player. When Teagarden fired Garvin, Kitty also left the band, and their marriage was later ended.

In 1948, Kitty Kallen married Bernard "Budd" Granoff. He was a publicist, agent, and television producer. They were married for over 45 years until Budd's death in 1996. They had one son, Jonathan Granoff, who is now the President of the Global Security Institute.

Later Years and Legacy

In 2008, Kitty Kallen joined other artists like Patti Page and Tony Martin in a lawsuit against Universal Music Group. They claimed the company had not paid them all the money they were owed for their music.

In 2009, Kitty Kallen was honored by being added to the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Kitty Kallen passed away on January 7, 2016, at her home in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She was 94 years old.

Singles Discography

See also

In Spanish: Kitty Kallen para niños