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, the post-WWII pop scene and the early years of rock ‘n roll. She performed with some of the most popular big bands of the 1940s, including those of Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James, before striking out on a solo career.
She is widely 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”, and 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 died on January 7, 2016 at her home in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the age of 94.
Kitty Kallen, Little Things Mean a Lot, 1955 Perry Como TV
Harry James , Kitty Kallen – IT’S BEEN A LONG,LONG TIME