Kitty Kallen
Katie "Kitty" Kallen (born May 25, 1921 – January 7, 2016) was an American singer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1960s, including the Swing era of the Big Band years, the post-World War II pop scene, and the early years of rock 'n roll. Kallen performed with popular big band leaders of the 1940s, including Jimmy Dorsey and Harry James, before establishing a solo career. She is best known for her 1954 solo recording '"Little Things Mean a Lot", a song that stayed at the U.S. Billboard number one spot for nine consecutive weeks and took top honor as 1954's #1 song of the year, charted in the U.S. for almost seven months, hit No. 1 on the UK singles chart, and sold more than two million copies. Voted "most popular female singer" in 1954 in both Billboard and Variety polls, Kallen lost her voice at the London Palladium in 1955 at the top of her career and stopped singing before an audience for four years. After testing her voice under a pseudonym in small town venues, she ultimately returned and went on to achieve 13 top-ten career hits. |
Birth and Death Data: Born Philadelphia (largest city in Pennsylvania, United States), Died January 7, 2016 (Cuernavaca (capital of the State of Morelos, Mexico) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1943 - 1957
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-50 of 84 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decca | 86516 | 7/2/1954 | I'm a little teapot | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86517 | 7/2/1954 | Polly pigtails | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86518 | 7/2/1954 | I'm a lonely little petunia (in an onion patch) | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86617 | 7/28/1954 | (Don't let the) Kitty geddin' | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86618 | 7/28/1954 | I want you all to myself | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86619 | 7/28/1954 | I'd never forgive myself | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86620 | 7/28/1954 | Honestly | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86836 | 9/23/1954 | Baby brother (Santa Claus, dear Santa Claus) | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 86837 | 9/23/1954 | The spirit of Christmas | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 87884 | 5/4/1955 | Just between friends | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 87885 | 5/4/1955 | Let's make the most of tonight | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 87886 | 5/4/1955 | If it's a dream | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 87887 | 5/4/1955 | [Unknown title(s)] | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 87888 | 5/4/1955 | Forgive me | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 88501 | 8/15/1955 | Come Spring | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 88502 | 8/15/1955 | Only forever | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 88679 | 9/21/1955 | How lonely can I get? | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 88680 | 9/21/1955 | Sweet Kentucky rose | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 88941 | 11/23/1955 | Go on with the wedding | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 88942 | 11/23/1955 | The second greatest sex | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 88944 | 11/25/1955 | Sky written airplane | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 89936 | 5/14/1956 | True love | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 89937 | 5/14/1956 | Will I always be your sweetheart? | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 89938 | 5/14/1956 | The lonely one | Kitty Kallen | vocalist | |||
| Decca | 89939 | 5/14/1956 | When did you leave heaven? | Kitty Kallen | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Kallen, Kitty," accessed January 6, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/324526.
Kallen, Kitty. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/324526.
"Kallen, Kitty." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 6 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Kitty Kallen
Discogs: Kitty Kallen
Allmusic: Kitty Kallen
Apple Music: Kitty Kallen
IMDb: Kitty Kallen
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Kallen, Kitty - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n91098204
Wikidata: Kitty Kallen - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q508305
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/54332839
MusicBrainz: Kitty Kallen - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0822ea07-20f8-4740-a97a-a827cb6ce883
Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1501499 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1501499
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