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.
But Beautiful
Kitty Kallen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or it's quiet or it's mad,
It's a good thing or it's bad,
But beautiful!
Beautiful to take a chance
And if you fall, you fall,
And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all.
It's a problem or it's play,
It's a heartache either way,
But beautiful!
And I'm thinking if you were mine
I'd never let you go,
And that would be but beautiful I know.
The lyrics of Kitty Kallen's song "But Beautiful" explores the many twists and turns of romantic love, acknowledging that it can be funny, sad, quiet, or mad, and it can be either a good or a bad thing. It's a fresh and honest take on romantic love, as the lyrics delve into its complexities, exploring its tearful and gay moments, acknowledging that it can be both a problem and its own form of play. Ultimately, the song's message is one of hope and an acceptance of the paradoxical nature of love, that it can be both a heartache and a beautiful experience.
The lyrics' opening lines serve to set the tone of the song, with its exploration of the contradictory nature of love. The juxtaposition of "funny or sad" with "quiet or mad" showcases the various ways that love can manifest, making it difficult to predict. An interesting aspect of the song is how it presents falling in love as both beautiful and scary. The line "Beautiful to take a chance And if you fall, you fall," expresses this sentiment, acknowledging the risk involved in submitting to one's emotions. The resolution in the final verse of the song is particularly lovely, as it speaks to the potential for beauty and happiness in sharing one's life with another person.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is funny or it's sad,
Love can bring happiness or sadness.
Or it's quiet or it's mad,
Love can be calm or intense.
It's a good thing or it's bad,
Love can be positive or negative.
But beautiful!
Despite its complications, love is still beautiful.
Beautiful to take a chance
Love is worth the risk.
And if you fall, you fall,
If you take a chance on love and fail, it's still worth it.
And I'm thinking I wouldn't mind at all.
The potential for heartache is worth the chance to experience love.
Love is tearful or it's gay.
Love can bring tears or joy.
It's a problem or it's play,
Love can be both challenging and fun.
It's a heartache either way,
Regardless of the outcome, love can cause pain.
But beautiful!
Despite its complications, love is still beautiful.
And I'm thinking if you were mine
If I had you as my own,
I'd never let you go,
I would hold onto you forever.
And that would be but beautiful I know.
The love between us would be worth any difficulties.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
dsanw
That is so very beautiful, the lovely lady singing, the music, the images ... it's beautiful Jim, very beautiful. Thank you my friend ! Best wishes, Uli
LoveTheOConnor
"Beautiful" just doesn't quite cover it, Jim!! Really gorgeous--the song, Ms. Kallen, and your wonderful pictures and backgrounds! Thanks so much for sharing and warming up a very cold day :))
Gramarson95
Spotify needs to bring back all her songs!
nipstertunes
I am so happy you liked it, Uli! I do too. She has recorded some wonderful songs and I have been a big fan of hers for a long time. Thank you so much for your very nice comments, my Friend...and wishing you all the Best too! Jim
nipstertunes
Oh, Thank You, Heather! I sure hope you are coping with the snow alright. We were very lucky here. I am so glad if this one helped, in any way, to bring a little warmth and happiness to you. Thank you so much for watching and commenting! Jim
sstavsky
Very nice video. As for the song, I had bought a compilation of Kitty Kallen hits on a cassette tape many years ago, and this song, which was on it, always stayed with me. Beautiful song, really nice arrangement, and terrific vocal. She had such a warm, full voice.
nipstertunes
I love her songs. This one always gives me chills. Thank you so much for your comment.
Jim
nipstertunes
Ha! Yes, plenty of Beauty to go around! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for taking the time to watch, listen and comment! Very Much Appreciated! Jim