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.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Kitty Kallen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
January, February, into March and April,
Same way too.
May, June and July, I never let a day go by
Without a kiss for you to remember
Just in case you go away in August or September
In October and November, Not to mention cold December
I love you.
Though another year has gone I′m ready for the next one too
Every single second, every minute, every hour, all the whole year through,
Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I love you.
Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I love you.
HIM: (Spoken)
I'm listening, Honey
HER: (Sung)
January, February, into March and April,
HIM: (Spoken)
And then?
HER: (SUNG)
Same way too.
May, June and July, I never let a day go by
HIM: (Spoken)
Why, that′s nice
HER: (Sung)
Without a kiss for you to remember
In case you go away in August or September
HIM: (Sung)
In October and November,
HER: (Sung)
Not to mention cold December
BOTH: (Sung)
I love you.
HER: (Sung)
Though another year has gone I'm ready for the next one too
HIM: (Spoken)
Now that really registers, dear.
BOTH: (Sung)
Every single second, every minute, every hour,
HER: (Sung)
All the whole year through,
BOTH: (Sung)
Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I love you.
The lyrics of Kitty Kallen's song "Monday Tuesday Wednesday" express a unconditional and constant love for someone. The repetition of the days of the week and the months of the year serves to emphasize that this love is not limited to specific times or periods, but is undying and everlasting. The singer is determined to make every moment count and leave a lasting impression on her lover, even if they were to leave in August or September. She promises to continue to love them in October and November and even in the cold of December.
The song's simple and straightforward message of love has a timeless quality to it. It celebrates the everyday moments and the passing of time, reminding us to cherish the people we love and make the most of the time we have with them. The song's sparsely arranged instrumentation and gentle melody give it a soft and sentimental feel, further emphasizing the tender and sincere nature of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I love you.
No matter what day of the week it is, I love you every day.
January, February, into March and April,
From the beginning of the year to spring, my love for you remains constant.
Same way too.
And it will stay that way.
May, June and July, I never let a day go by
Throughout the summer months, I always make sure to show my love for you.
Without a kiss for you to remember
I make sure to give you a kiss every day to make you feel loved.
In case you go away in August or September
I want to make sure you never forget how much I love you, even if you have to leave in August or September.
In October and November,
As fall comes, my love for you remains just as strong.
Not to mention cold December
Even in the cold of December, my love for you stays warm.
Though another year has gone I'm ready for the next one too
As another year passes, I'm excited to continue loving you in the next one.
Every single second, every minute, every hour,
I love you with every passing moment.
All the whole year through,
My love for you lasts all year round.
Writer(s): Ross Parker
Contributed by Alex B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@lizdoyle7158
FABOULOUS SINGER ⚘⚘⚘
🌟🌟🌟KITTY KALLEN
SUPER SONG 📀📀📀
@flatop47
Good One Mick..Top Video...Wow She Has Only Just Past Away At 95
@OnlyFiftiesAgainmjp
+flatop47 ..Many thanks Brian,she was a classy singer in her day..I didn't know she had passed away recently until I went on the Wikipedia for some info.
@sitonatree1
I'll take Tuesday Mick , nice swing style song , must have been devastating when she lost her voice , Top Notch Video Mick :)
@OnlyFiftiesAgainmjp
+Music Selection ...Many thanks MS,thought you might like this one from Kitty,she's a long time fave of mine,but sadly not too well known here in the UK....As you say,I guess she was pretty frantic when the voice went,happily it came back after a year or two and she continued where she'd left off,making classy records !
@sitonatree1
***** Yes you can't beat a classy lady Mick ,, the young ones today could learn a lot about style from the classic stars , more wind and rain today fences crashing .. help ! lol
@OnlyFiftiesAgainmjp
It hasn't rained here today,managed to cut my grass,bloody ridiculous in January !.lol.
@sitonatree1
***** ha ha .. yes that is a bit not right lol , I still have flowers and my garden is still got tons of green leaves ??
@geraldinegreenwood4182
I used this video to remember the names of the weekdays and months in English and how you pronounce them
I still love this song tho
@shortycool85
Just found out about this song because of a chocolate commercial on German TV :) Love it!