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.
They're Either Too Young or Too Old
Kitty Kallen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As empty as can be.
I can't sit under the apple tree
With anyone else but me.
For there is no secret lover
That the draft board didn't discover.
They're either too young or too old
The pickings are poor and the crop is lean.
What's good is in the army.
What's left will never harm me.
I'm either their first breath of spring.
Or I'm their last little fling.
I must confess to one romance,
I'm sure you will allow.
He tries to serenade me,
But his voice is changing now.
I'm finding it easy to stay good as gold.
They're either too young or too old.
I'll never ever fail ya, when you are in Australia
And flying over Egypt, your heart will never by gypped.
And when you get to India, I'll still be what I've been to ya,
I've looked the field over, and lo and behold!
They're either too young or too old.
The lyrics to Kitty Kallen's song "They're Either too Young or Too Old" are a commentary on the harsh realities of a society involving war and the draft process, and how it affects relationships. The opening line, "You marched away and left this town/As empty as can be," sets the melancholic tone of the song, and the following line suggests that the singer is alone and unable to enjoy a simple pleasure like sitting under an apple tree with another person. The main refrain of the song, "They're either too young or too old/ They're either too grey or too grassy green," speaks to the futility of finding a suitable romantic partner during this difficult time.
The song highlights that the draft board's scrutiny leaves very few eligible men available, and those who are available tend to fall into two categories: too young and inexperienced or too old and potentially physically unfit. The pickings are slim, and the competition is steep, leaving no room for compromise or exceptions. The singer resigns herself to the fact that the best men are fighting overseas, and what's left is, at least for now, not worth pursuing. She even mentions a boy who tries to serenade her but his voice is changing, indicating that he is still young and not a viable option. The final line of the refrain "What's good is in the army/What's left will never harm me," further suggests that the men who are left don't have much to offer and that the singer is better off without them.
Overall, the song demonstrates the devastating effects war and military service can have on a society, including the loss of lives, a shortage of eligible men, and the emotional turmoil of those left behind. It is a testament to the power of lyrics to express the complex emotions and experiences of the human condition, even in the most trying of times.
Line by Line Meaning
You marched away and left this town
You left me alone and deserted our town
As empty as can be.
The town is now empty without you here
I can't sit under the apple tree
I can't enjoy the simple things without you
With anyone else but me.
I only find solace in my own company
For there is no secret lover
There is no one for me to love in secret
That the draft board didn't discover.
Every possible lover has been drafted for the war
They're either too young or too old
Those who are available are either too young or too old for me
They're either too grey or too grassy green.
Those who are not drafted are either too old or too inexperienced
The pickings are poor and the crop is lean.
There are very few options available to me
What's good is in the army.
The best options have already been drafted
What's left will never harm me.
The remaining options are not a threat to me
I'm either their first breath of spring.
For some, I am their first love and they are excited by the possibility of love
Or I'm their last little fling.
For others, I may be their last chance for a romantic encounter before they go to war
I must confess to one romance,
I have had one romantic experience
I'm sure you will allow.
I hope you will understand
He tries to serenade me,
He sings to try and impress me
But his voice is changing now.
He is going through puberty and his voice is no longer attractive to me
I'm finding it easy to stay good as gold.
I have no desire to stray from my commitment to you
They're either too young or too old.
Once again, my options are limited to those who are either too young or too old for me
I'll never ever fail ya, when you are in Australia
I will remain faithful to you even if you are thousands of miles away in Australia
And flying over Egypt, your heart will never by gypped.
Even while traveling over Egypt, you can trust that I will be faithful to you
And when you get to India, I'll still be what I've been to ya,
Even if you travel to India, my devotion to you will remain the same
I've looked the field over, and lo and behold!
I have searched for potential lovers and I have found that there are none
They're either too young or too old.
Once again, my options are limited to those who are either too young or too old for me
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ARTHUR SCHWARTZ, FRANK LOESSER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@fosbury68
"I'm either their first breath of spring or else I'm their last little fling.." LOL.
@turtlevox4181
quoted at length in one of the greatest Merrie Melodies ever, Little Red Riding Rabbit
@khussein6409
NICE!
@swingman5635
In my humble opinion, Kitty could do no wrong.The following year,she would reach her pinnacle of success with the Harry James outfit,creating one of the greatest band/vocalist teams,ever.
@hew2356
She's a fantastic singer. "It's Been a Long, Long Time" and "Little Things(Mean a Lot)" are two of my favorites from her.
@melofy-vibes
Here, while reading "Lost In The Funhouse".
@Luiz30072
Gosto do Inglês dela : belíssima pronúncia, de fácil compreensão para brasileiros. Até diria que ela seria uma cantora francesa cantando em Inglês.
@awesomeyoda6839
I would eat 😮
@pacificostudios
The "Lili Marlene" of America's World War II.