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.
A Stranger in Town
Julie London Lyrics
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Thought I'd see the old gang again,
But you know how they come and go --
I'm just a stranger in town.
Everywhere, everyone I see
Seems to wonder who I can be;
And I swear, no one seems to care
I saw a cottage on a lonely old street,
The weeds have grown 'round the gate;
Somehow I felt that you would wait here, my sweet;
But it looks like I'm too late.
Guess I'll leave on the twelve - oh - two,
Can't believe that there's no more you;
Is there nothing for me? Will I always be
A stranger in my own home town.
In Julie London's "A Stranger in Town," the singer paints the picture of arriving back in her hometown only to find that she is no longer a familiar face. As she realizes that she is now a stranger, she notes that others are only interested in figuring out who she might be. Through her lyrics, it is clear that she longs to return to a time when she was no stranger, as evidenced by her feelings of being too late to visit an old flame's house.
The singer's vulnerability is palpable as she explains that she will soon leave, realizing that there is no longer anything left for her in her hometown. She seems desperate for someone to recognize her or reach out, but the lyrics suggest that her isolation has left her alone in a crowd. Overall, this song is a sorrowful and haunting expression of the often-unpleasant reality of returning to a place that was once familiar but no longer feels like home.
Line by Line Meaning
Just arrived on the seventen,
I have just arrived on the 17:00 train.
Thought I'd see the old gang again,
I had hoped to reunite with my old group of friends.
But you know how they come and go --
However, as you know, people tend to move on.
I'm just a stranger in town.
As a result, I feel like a complete stranger in this place.
Everywhere, everyone I see
No matter where I turn or who I encounter,
Seems to wonder who I can be;
people seem to be curious about who I might be.
And I swear, no one seems to care
Despite this, I feel as though nobody really cares.
About a stranger in town.
That someone unknown to them is present.
I saw a cottage on a lonely old street,
While wandering about, I happened upon a small house on a deserted lane
The weeds have grown 'round the gate;
The front entrance has been overgrown by weeds.
Somehow I felt that you would wait here, my sweet;
Despite the state of the place, I had believed you would still be here, my dear.
But it looks like I'm too late.
However, it seems that I arrived after it was too late.
Guess I'll leave on the twelve - oh - two,
Because there seems to be no reason keeping me, I have decided to leave on the 02:00 train.
Can't believe that there's no more you;
It's difficult to accept that you are truly gone.
Is there nothing for me? Will I always be
I am beginning to wonder if there is any place for me, or if I will always be
A stranger in my own home town.
a complete outsider in the city where I grew up.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PETER MYERS, RONALD CASS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind