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.
Star Eyes
Kitty Kallen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That to me is what your eyes are,
Soft as stars in April skies are,
Tell me some day you'll fulfill
Their promise of a thrill.
Star Eyes,
Flashing eyes in which my hopes rise,
Let me show you where my heart lies.
That loveliness of yours.
All my life I've felt
Content to stargaze at the skies.
Now I only want to to melt
The stardust in your eyes.
Star Eyes,
When if ever, will my lips know
If it's me for whom those eyes glow?
Makes no difference where you are,
Your eyes still hold my wishing star,
Oh, Star Eyes, how lovely you are.
In Kitty Kallen's popular jazz song Star Eyes, the singer admires the stunning beauty of another person's eyes, comparing them to soft and sparkling stars in the April sky. He yearns for an opportunity to experience the thrill they promise, and hopes to win the heart of the person who possesses such captivating eyes. Throughout his life, he has been content to gaze at the stars in the sky, but now he has a new desire - to miingle with the stars that twinkle in the eyes of his beloved. The singer declares his love for that person and admits that wherever they might be his fascination on their stunning eyes will remain the same. In the end, the singer concludes by saying how beautiful the eyes are.
The lyrical content of Star Eyes is both romantic and poetic. It employs various literary devices such as metaphors, alliterations, comparisons, and personifications to capture the essence of love and beauty in a unique way, making it stand out from other love songs of the time. The singer also expresses their longing, uncertainty, and hope for reciprocation from their love interest, which enhances the emotional depth of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Star Eyes
The singer is referring to the person they are addressing as ‘Star Eyes’.
That to me is what your eyes are,
The singer believes the addressee’s eyes resemble the beauty of a star.
Soft as stars in April skies are,
The singer elaborates on the previous statement, claiming that her eyes are gentle and lovely - like the stars in the sky at night during April months.
Tell me someday you'll fulfill
The singer is requesting that the addressee let her know if there’s any chance their relationship could progress into something more intimate.
Their promise of a thrill.
The singer is hoping that someday the addressee might provide something new and exciting into their relationship.
Flashing eyes in which my hopes rise,
The singer describes how the addressee’s eyes give her a sense of hope.
Let me show you where my heart lies.
The singer explains she wishes to show the addressee how important she is to her.
Let me prove that it adores
The singer wants to demonstrate how much she loves the addressee’s beauty.
That loveliness of yours.
The singer is once again complimenting the addressee by referring to her beautiful appearance.
All my life I've felt
The singer is sharing her feelings of admiration and love.
Content to stargaze at the skies.
The singer previously found looking at the stars calming, but she’s now ready to move on to something more fulfilling.
Now I only want to melt
The singer’s desires to get closer to the addressee have increased.
The stardust in your eyes.
The singer wishes to get lost in the addressee’s beauty and charm.
When if ever, will my lips know
The singer wonders when will she be given the opportunity to get intimate with her partner.
If it's me for whom those eyes glow?
The singer is curious to know if the addressee’s eyes gleam with passion and love for her.
Makes no difference where you are,
No matter the distance, the singer feels a strong attraction towards the addressee.
Your eyes still hold my wishing star,
The singer’s wish is to be with the addressee forever.
Oh, Star Eyes, how lovely you are.
The singer ends the song by using the name ‘Star Eyes’ once again to compliment the addressee’s beauty.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Gene De Paul, Don Raye
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind