Recently events concerning two singers have been made the news. The singers' names are Justin Bieber and Kitty Kallen. There is no real connection between the two. Both individuals come from different times and have very different styles to their music. Justin Bieber is a post hip-hop, top forty 40 sensation and Kitty Kallen was a well known big band singer. Their behavior in life and in the way they went about performing is very indicitive of the time they came from.
Kitty Kallen is in the news because she died on Thursday in Cuernavaca Mexico. She was 94 years old and one of the last big band singers of any prominence, the other notables still kicking being Vera Lynn at 98 and Doris Day who is 91. Kitty Kallen was a popular singer during the World War II. According to the Huffington Post, she fronted groups led by such prominent bandleaders as Harry James, Artie Shaw, Jack Teagarden and Jimmy Dorsey. Kitty Kallen became a solo artist in the earl 1950's and had her biggest hit with "Little Things Mean A Lot". Billboard magazine voted her the top female pop performer of 1954. Kitty began to suffer from vocal problems at peak of her success. The singer had 13 top ten hits before her early retirement. Kitty Kallen epitomized a graceful era when standards to sing and play were given to musicians with real talent.
Justin Bieber was in Mexico on Thursday too. According to TMZ, Mr. Bieber brought along a posse of friends and, being believers in cultural learning, and enlightenment, went to an ancient Mayan site and drank a lot of beer and then mooned every one. After enough of this behavior, they were escorted from the site. Bieber and friends were later told they could return if they showed proper respect to the site. No word yet on whether they shot a video for Youtube.
