Kitty Kallen's death softly closes one of the last doors on a gentle yet deceptively powerful corner of 20th century popular music.
Kallen, who died Thursday in Cuernavaca, Mexico, at the age of 94, started out as one of "the ladies who sing with the band."
In her case, that included the bands of Jan Savitt, Jack Teagarden, Jimmy Dorsey, Harry James and Artie Shaw.
When the music business started to fragment after World War II, dissolving most of the big bands, Kallen followed the crowd and went solo, scoring her biggest hit in 1954 with "Little Things Mean A Lot."
She was voted top female pop singer of 1954 by Billboard and Variety. She appeared at the Copa and on American Bandstand. She sang on Broadway in Finian's Rainbow.
Like far too many of her fellow band singers, she then crashed into career-crippling problems, in her case paralyzed vocal cords. After a long hard battle she regained her voice, just not her spot on the radio. She hit the top 20 a final time in 1963 with "My Coloring Book" and finally retired relatively young.
Happily, her lovely and velvety smooth voice lingers on, and nowhere with more poignance than on "It's Been a Long, Long Time."
She recorded it with the James band around the early fall of 1945, just after World War II had ended. The song was conceived some 13 years earlier, but writer James Terlingo sold the rights, and the 1945 version was written by Julie Styne, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.
Those lyrics were simple and sentimental: "You'll never know how many dreams / I've dreamed about you / Or just how empty they all seemed without you." They were written in the words of the girl back home, welcoming the soldier they both knew might never return.
Interestingly, they weren't a holler of joy. They were more pensive, almost melancholy. It had been a long, long war.
"Long Long Time" was among the last of the sweet, wistful ballads that permeated the music of America during the war: "I Don't Want To Walk Without You," "I'll Be Seeing You," "Til Then," "When the Lights Go On Again," "I'll Walk Alone," "Sentimental Journey," "Long Ago (And Far Away)."
"The White Cliffs of Dover."
It was a cornucopia of wonderful songs, written by the best writers of the day. They feel curiously unlike the songs from any other war, memorable as many of those songs also have been.
World War II just happened to come at a time in the popular music cycles when lush big bands with sweet-voiced female singers were producing a lot of the hits.
Hate the situation, love the music.
By the time we got to our next all-consuming war, Vietnam, rock 'n' roll had finished off the ladies who sang with the band, at least for top-40 purposes. The songs that resonated during the Vietnam war were more along the lines of Jimi Hendrix, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Junior Walker's "Shotgun" or, later, Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On."
First-rate stuff. Just a world away from the lonesome ballads that captured the sad ache of the previous generation's war.
With Kitty Kallen's death, pretty much all the singers who popularized those songs are gone. Doris Day is still with us, in her 90s. Vera Lynn, who sang those songs in Britain, is still alive at 98. Not many others.
Happily, their music is too good to vanish - and the context in which they recorded it is something we'd do equally well not to forget.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.