London's 35-year acting career began in films in 1944 and included playing opposite Gary Cooper in Man of the West (1958) and Robert Mitchum in The Wonderful Country (1959). She achieved continuing success in the TV medical drama Emergency! (1972–1979), co-starring her real-life husband, Bobby Troup, and produced by her ex-husband, Jack Webb, in which London played the female lead role of nurse Dixie McCall. She and Randolph Mantooth, who played one-half of her medical students, a paramedic, in the series, were very close to her family, until her death in 2000.
Born in Santa Rosa, California, she was the daughter of Jack and Josephine Peck, who were a vaudeville song-and-dance team. When she was fourteen the family moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after that, she began appearing in movies. She graduated from the Hollywood Professional High School in 1945.
London began singing under the name Gayle Peck in public in her teens before appearing in a film. She was discovered by talent agent Sue Carol (wife of actor Alan Ladd), while working as an elevator operator. Her early film career, however, did not include any singing roles.
London recorded 32 albums in a career that began in 1955 with a live performance at the 881 Club in Los Angeles. Billboard named her the most popular female vocalist for 1955, 1956, and 1957. She was the subject of a 1957 Life cover article in which she was quoted as saying, "It's only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to use it close to the microphone. But it is a kind of oversmoked voice, and it automatically sounds intimate."
London's debut recordings were for the Bethlehem Records label. While shopping for a record deal, she recorded four tracks that would later be included on the compilation album Bethlehem's Girlfriends in 1955. Bobby Troup backed London on the album, for which London recorded the standards "Don't Worry About Me", "Motherless Child", "A Foggy Day", and "You're Blasé".
London's most famous single, "Cry Me a River", was written by her high-school classmate Arthur Hamilton and produced by Troup. The recording became a million-seller after its release in December 1955 and also sold on reissue in April 1983 from the attention brought by a Mari Wilson cover. London performed the song in the film The Girl Can't Help It (1956), and her recording gained later attention in the films Passion of Mind (2000) and V for Vendetta (2006). The song "Yummy Yummy Yummy" was featured on the HBO television series Six Feet Under and appears on its soundtrack album. London's "Must Be Catchin'" was featured in the 2011 premiere episode of the ABC series Pan Am. Her last recording was "My Funny Valentine" for the soundtrack of the Burt Reynolds film Sharky's Machine (1981).
Other popular singles include "Hot Toddy", "Daddy", and "Desafinado". Recordings such as "Go Slow" epitomized her career style: her voice is slow, smoky, and playfully sensual.
She was married to Jack Webb, of Dragnet fame. Her obvious beauty and self-poise (she was a pinup girl prized by GIs during World War II) contrasted with his pedestrian appearance and stiff-as-a-board acting technique (much parodied by impersonators). This unlikely pairing arose from his and her love for jazz; their marriage lasted from July 1947 to November 1953. They had two daughters, one who was killed in a traffic accident in the 1990s and one who survived London. In 1954, having become somewhat reclusive after her divorce from Jack Webb, she met jazz composer and musician Bobby Troup at a club on La Brea Blvd. They married on December 31, 1959 and remained married until Troup's death in February 1999. Together, they had one daughter and twin sons.
London suffered a stroke in 1995, and was in poor health until her death in Encino, California, at the age of seventy-four, survived by four of her five children. She died on18th October 2000, and was buried in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
Basin Street Blues
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To the Mississippi
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
Steam down the river, down to New Orleans
The band's there to meet us
Old friends there to greet us
Where all the proud and elite folks meet
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
Basin Street is the street
Where the best folks always meet
In New Orleans, land of dreams
You'll never know how nice it seems,
Or just how much it really means
Glad to be, oh yes-sirree
Where welcome's free and dear to me
Where I can lose, lose my Basin Street Blues
Basin Street, oh Basin Street
Is the street, mama
New Orleans, land of dreams
The opening lines of "Basin Street Blues" by Julie London invites the listener to travel with her down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. The song paints a picture of a place where old friends are waiting to greet you, a place that is heaven on earth, called Basin Street. Basin Street is the famous street where the elite folks meet in New Orleans, and it's a place where the best folks come to have a good time. The chorus repeats the name Basin Street and it emphasizes how much the singer enjoys the welcoming feeling of the place. The lyrics convey a sense of excitement and anticipation as the singer and her listeners approach this magical destination.
Line by Line Meaning
Won't you come along with me
Would you like to accompany me?
To the Mississippi
We are going towards the Mississippi river.
We'll take a boat to the land of dreams
We will travel by boat to a place where we can have a dreamlike experience.
Steam down the river, down to New Orleans
We will travel down the river by steamboat and will reach New Orleans.
The band's there to meet us
A band will be present to welcome us to the destination.
Old friends there to greet us
We will meet old friends when we reach there.
Where all the proud and elite folks meet
The place where people of class and distinction assemble.
Heaven on earth, they call it Basin Street
Basin Street is a place so wonderful that people liken it to heaven.
Basin Street is the street
The name of the street is Basin Street.
Where the best folks always meet
It's a place where the most exceptional people gather.
In New Orleans, land of dreams
New Orleans is the place where everyone can live their dreams.
You'll never know how nice it seems,
You won't understand how magnificent it is until you've seen it yourself.
Or just how much it really means
You won't comprehend its real significance unless you experience it for yourself.
Glad to be, oh yes-sirree
I'm very happy to be there indeed.
Where welcome's free and dear to me
It's a place where the reception is warm, and I enjoy being there.
Where I can lose, lose my Basin Street Blues
I can forget my worries and relax whenever I'm in Basin Street.
Basin Street, oh Basin Street
An exclamation for Basin Street.
Is the street, mama
Basin Street is the street, dear.
New Orleans, land of dreams
New Orleans is a place where everything is possible.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind