She is best known for her 1954 solo recording '"Little Things Mean a Lot" — a song that stayed at the U.S. number one spot for nine consecutive weeks, charted in the U.S. for almost seven months, hit #1 on the UK singles chart, and sold more than two million copies. AllMusic called the recording a "monster hit", music historian Jonny Whiteside said the song "ably characterizes Kallen’s impressive, and graceful, transition from classic big band swing to modern post-war pop".
Voted "most popular female singer" in 1954 in both Billboard and Variety polls, Kallen lost her voice at the Palladium in 1955 at the top of her career and left singing for four years, suffering paralyzed vocal cords. After testing her voice under a pseudonym in small town venues, she ultimately returned and went on to achieve 13 top-ten career hits.
Kallen performed at numerous prominent live venues including Manhattan's Copacabana, Morris Levy's Versailles, the Capitol Theater, the Maisonette Room at the St. Regis, the Cafe Rouge at the Hotel Pennsylvania and the Plaza Hotel's Persian Room. As well, she starred on Broadway in Finian's Rainbow; in the 1955 film The Second Greatest Sex and on numerous television shows including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Big Beat with singer-host Richard Hayes, American Bandstand, and Fred Allen's Judge for Yourself. In 1951, Kallen appeared with Buster Crabbe as the Queen and King of Winter at the Lake Placid resort.
During the height of her popularity, three imposters billed themselves as "Kitty Kallen". When one of them — Genevieve Agostinello — died in 1978, it was incorrectly reported that Kallen herself had died. On February 8, 1960, Kallen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (located on the north side of Hollywood Boulevard at #7021), and in 2009 she was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Some sources give Kallen's birth name as Katherine Kalinsky, but according to records cited by her son, the name was Katie Kallen. She was born May 25, 1921, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of seven children, to Russian Jewish immigrants Samuel and Rose Kalinsky (later Kallen). As a child, she won an amateur contest by imitating popular singers. When she returned home with her prize, a camera, her father did not believe her, and punished her for stealing the camera. Only when neighbors subsequently visited to congratulate her, did Kallen's father realize she had actually won it.
While performing with Jack Teagarden's band, she married Clint Garvin, the band's clarinet player. When Teagarden fired Garvin, Kallen left as well, later annulling the marriage. In 1948, Kallen married Bernard "Budd" Granoff, a publicist, agent, and television producer. He later became a pioneering television syndicator. The couple, married for over forty-five years until Granoff's death in 1996, had a son, Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute and Adjunct Professor of International Law at Widener University School of Law.
In 1977, Kallen sued her dermatologist, Norman Orentreich, after he prescribed an estrogen drug, Premarin, for her small facial wrinkles. She subsequently suffered blood clots in her lungs, caused directly by the drug, and won $300,000 by the court's decision.
In 2008, Kallen joined artists Patti Page, Tony Martin, Dick Hyman, Richard Hayman and the estates of Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Sarah Vaughan, Woody Herman, Les Brown, the Mills Brothers, Jerry Murad, Frankie Laine, and the gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in a suit against the world's then largest music label, Universal Music Group, alleging the company had cheated them on royalties.
Kallen died on January 7, 2016 at her home in Cuernavaca, Mexico at the age of 94.
As a young girl Kallen sang on The Children's Hour, a radio program sponsored by Horn & Hardart, an automat chain. As a pre-teen, Kallen had a radio program on Philadelphia's WCAU, and sang with the big bands of Jan Savitt in 1936, Artie Shaw in 1938, and Jack Teagarden in 1940.
Shortly before her 21st birthday, on May 5, 1942, she sang the vocals for "Moonlight Becomes You" with Bobby Sherwood and His Orchestra at the second every session for what was then still called Liberty Records but would soon be renamed Capitol Records. It was her only session for the label.
Just 21, she joined the Jimmy Dorsey band, replacing Helen O'Connell. In every theater of World War II, a favorite of American servicemen, "They're Either Too Young or Too Old". In 1944, Kallen performed the vocals for Dorsey's number-one hit "Besame Mucho". Most of her singing assignments were in duets with Bob Eberly, and when Eberly left to go into the service toward the end of 1943, she joined Harry James' band.
Between January and November 1945, Kitty Kallen had two songs recorded with the Harry James Orchestra in the top twenty, six in the top ten, and two at the #1 spot—"I'm Beginning to See the Light" and "It's Been a Long, Long Time", which remains deeply associated with the end of World War II and the returning troops.
With the 1954 hit "Little Things Mean a Lot", Kallen was voted most popular female singer in Billboard and Variety polls. She followed up this song with "Chapel in the Moonlight", another million selling record, and a version of "True Love" for Decca. In 1959, she recorded "If I Give My Heart to You" for Columbia Records, and in 1963, she recorded a top-selling version of "My Coloring Book" for RCA. Her final album was Quiet Nights, a bossa nova–flavored release for 20th Century Fox Records. Subsequently, Kallen retired due to a lung ailment.
A compilation of her hits on various labels remains available on the Sony CD set The Kitty Kallen Story.
Are You Looking for a Sweetheart
Kitty Kallen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give love a try If you′re looking for a sweetheart So am I.
Are you dreaming of a heaven With a love that is
Always true If you're dreaming of that heaven I am too.
I searched for years and years For a love that I could
Share And now that I found you My dreams are in your care.
Are you looking for a new love For the chance to give
Dreams a start If you′re looking for a true love Take my heart.
Share And now that I found you My dreams are are in your care.
Are you looking for a new love For the chance to give
Dreams a start If you're looking for a new love Take my heart.
The lyrics of Kitty Kallen's song "Are You Looking for a Sweetheart" describe the mutual desire between two people who are both looking for love. The singer poses several questions to the person listening, asking if they are also looking for a chance to give love a try, if they dream of a love that is always true, or if they are looking for a new love to give their dreams a start. In each verse, the singer expresses their own longing for love and how they have searched for years to find someone to share their life with. They finally found their match in the person they are singing to, and now their dreams rest in their partner's care.
The song is a simple and straightforward expression of the desire for love and companionship. Its lyrics are universal in their message, conveying the idea that everyone longs for someone to share their life with. The lyrics are delivered with a gentle and soothing melody, which enhances the emotional weight of the song. Overall, the song is a poignant expression of the human need for love and connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Are you looking for a sweetheart For the chance to
Give love a try If you′re looking for a sweetheart So am I.
Are you in search of a loving partner to take a chance at a lifelong commitment? If yes, then let's join hands to find that special someone.
Are you dreaming of a heaven With a love that is
Always true If you're dreaming of that heaven I am too.
Are you wishing for a heavenly experience with a partner who will love you unconditionally? If you are, then know that I share the same dream.
I searched for years and years For a love that I could
Share And now that I found you My dreams are in your care.
I looked for an affectionate bond that I could share with someone for years, and now that I've found you, my dreams and desires of having a loving partner are in your hands.
Are you looking for a new love For the chance to give
Dreams a start If you′re looking for a true love Take my heart.
Do you want to start anew and embark on a journey of love to fulfill your dreams? If yes, then take my heart, and let's make these dreams come true.
I searched for years and years For a love that I could
Share And now that I found you My dreams are are in your care.
I looked for an affectionate bond that I could share with someone for years, and now that I've found you, my dreams and desires of having a loving partner are in your hands.
Are you looking for a new love For the chance to give
Dreams a start If you're looking for a new love Take my heart.
Are you seeking to start afresh and carve out a shared future with a new beau? If you are, then know that my heart is open to you.
Writer(s): Larry Stevens, Sherwood Hartman
Contributed by Alex P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.