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.
Why Don't You Do Right
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You lost it all, and then where′d you run?
Why don't you do right?
Like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
You′re sittin' down wondering, what it's all about
You ain′t got no money, they will put you out
Why don′t you do right?
Like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
If you had prepared twenty years ago
You wouldn't be wandering now from door to door
Why don′t you do right?
Like some other men do?
Get out of here and get me some money too
Why don't you do right?
Like some other men do?
Like some other men do?
Like some other men do?
The song is sung from the perspective of an empowered woman who is confronting her man about his lack of ambition and motivation. She's telling him that she wants him to start providing for her or else she will leave him. The lyrics refer to a man who used to have money in 1941 but has since lost it all and is now broke. The woman in the song is urging him to "do right" and start making money like other men do. She's tired of his lack of drive and wants him to get out and start contributing to their lives.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of preparation and how if the man had prepared better in the past, he wouldn't be struggling now. The woman is frustrated with his lack of foresight and is urging him to take action and start working towards a better future. Overall, the song is a commentary on gender roles and expectations in relationships, as well as the importance of taking personal responsibility and working towards one's own success.
Line by Line Meaning
You had plenty money in 1941
You once had a lot of money in 1941.
You lost it all, and then where'd you run?
You lost all of your money and had to run away from your problems.
Why don't you do right?
Why don't you start making better decisions and turn your life around?
Like some other men do?
Like other successful men who have made smart choices and achieved financial stability.
Get out of here and get me some money too
You need to leave and come back with some money, as a way to make up for the trouble you've caused.
You're sittin' down wondering, what it's all about
You're sitting there pondering what went wrong and what you could have done differently.
You ain't got no money, they will put you out
You don't have any money, and as a result, you're in danger of being kicked out of your home or job.
If you had prepared twenty years ago
If you had taken the necessary steps to secure a financial future twenty years ago,
You wouldn't be wandering now from door to door
you wouldn't be wandering from place to place now, trying to scrape by.
Why don't you do right?
Why don't you start making better decisions and turn your life around?
Like some other men do?
Like other successful men who have made smart choices and achieved financial stability.
Get out of here and get me some money too
You need to leave and come back with some money, as a way to make up for the trouble you've caused.
Why don't you do right?
Why don't you start making better decisions and turn your life around?
Like some other men do?
Like other successful men who have made smart choices and achieved financial stability.
Like some other men do?
Like other successful men who have made smart choices and achieved financial stability.
Like some other men do?
Like other successful men who have made smart choices and achieved financial stability.
Writer(s): Joe Mccoy
Contributed by Joseph D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.