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.
You Are My Sunshine
Kitty Kallen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
I'll always love you and make you happy
If you will only say the same
But if you leave me to love another
You'll regret it all some day
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
You told me once dear, you really loved me
And no one else dear, could come between
But now you've left me and love another
You have shattered all my dreams
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
The song "You Are My Sunshine" by Kitty Kallen is a classic tune that has been covered by numerous artists over the years. The lyrics are simple and sweet, but hint at a deeper meaning. The song begins by expressing how the other person is like sunshine in their life, making them happy even when things are dark and grey. The singer then goes on to express their love for the other person, admitting that they may not even know just how much they mean to them. They plead with the other person not to leave them, singing "Please don't take my sunshine away."
The second verse of the song seems to hint at a dream the singer had where they were holding the other person in their arms, only to wake up and realize it wasn't real. This leads them to be overcome with sadness and cry. The chorus is then repeated, with the singer once again expressing their love for the other person and begging them not to leave. The final verse of the song reveals that the other person had told the singer once before that they loved them and that no one else could come between them, but has since left to love someone else. The singer is left heartbroken, their dreams shattered.
Overall, the song can be interpreted as a plea to a loved one not to leave, and a warning that they will regret it if they do. The metaphor of someone being like sunshine in your life is a beautiful and timeless one, and this song captures it perfectly.
Line by Line Meaning
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You are the one who brings light and joy to my life, and you are irreplaceable
You make me happy when skies are grey
Your presence brightens my day and makes me feel happy even when things are difficult
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
I deeply love and care for you, and it's hard to express in words how much you mean to me
Please don't take my sunshine away
I fear losing you, because you are the source of my happiness and the light in my life
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
One night, while I was asleep,
I dreamed I held you in my arms
I had a dream where I was able to embrace and hold you close
When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
Unfortunately, when I woke up, I realized that it was only a dream
And I hung my head and cried
I felt sad and emotional, and couldn't help but shed tears
I'll always love you and make you happy
I promise to always love you and do my best to make you feel happy and loved
If you will only say the same
If you reciprocate my feelings and promise to love me back
But if you leave me to love another
However, if you choose to leave me and love someone else
You'll regret it all some day
You will realize the depth of your mistake and feel regretful at some point in the future
You told me once dear, you really loved me
You once professed your love to me, saying that you loved me deeply and sincerely
And no one else dear, could come between
You assured me that nobody could ever compete with me or come between us
But now you've left me and love another
However, you have since left me and fallen in love with someone else
You have shattered all my dreams
This has broken my heart and destroyed all the hopes and dreams I had for a future with you
Writer(s): Jimmie Davis
Contributed by Makayla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@reenester
I never heard this version of this song before and i really like it Very nice ! Thank You for posting it.
@Mensa989
Kitty Kallen (May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American popular singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s—to include the Swing era of the Big Band years
@fa1946
Excellent recording!!
@bennyjazzful
WOW WOW WOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From a mad keen 74yo Aussie fan.
@Blackduck46
really nice
@wayne4811
never mind who it is just enjoy the song
@jerrypullen4890
I think this song helped jimmy Davis get elected governor twice in la.
@barrygriffin1690
It is Kitty Kallen.
@pook1711
The second picture is Ginger Roger !!! -_-"
@piksures1
pook1711 ug