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.
Adiós
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not a judging man
Your love is so advanced
You got me begging on my knees and my hands
You got me so stressed, it's hard to forget
How to seduce in English
Baby I want you bad
So why do you make it so hard to say yes
You, you, you got me feeling like I don't know
If I wanna stay, if I wanna go
I think I've lost all my control
You got me feeling loco
Adios
All I can say is adios
Got me going loco
Loco, loco, loco
Crazy for your love
Adios
All I can say is adios
Got me going loco
Loco, loco, loco
Crazy for your love
The lyrics of Julie London's song, Adios, depict a man pleading to his lover to give him a chance for one last romance before bidding adieu. The chorus repeats the Spanish word, "adios," which means farewell, emphasizing the theme of separation. The initial lines of the song convey the singer's eagerness to make things work with his partner, but he is perplexed by the complexity of her love. The phrase, "Your love is so advanced," implies that the woman's love is intricate and difficult to understand.
The singer's desperation for his partner's affection is highlighted in the line "You got me begging on my knees and my hands," which emphasizes how low he is willing to stoop for her love. The mention of stress indicates the emotional turmoil and confusion he is experiencing due to her indecisiveness towards his advances. He expresses his strong desire to be with her but questions why she is making it difficult for him to say "Yes." The pre-chorus indicates the inner turmoil the singer is experiencing in their relationship. The chorus is a repeat of the Spanish word "adios," signifying separation and loss of control over his feelings. The line "You got me feeling loco," amplifies the confusion and disorientation the singer is experiencing, which shows how much he wants to be with her.
Line by Line Meaning
Just give me a chance for final romance
Please allow me to have one final romantic interaction with you.
I'm not a judging man
I am not someone who judges others harshly.
Your love is so advanced
Your love is very mature and experienced.
You got me begging on my knees and my hands
You have placed me in a position where I am pathetically begging for your affection.
You got me so stressed, it's hard to forget
You are causing me a great deal of stress and it is difficult for me to forget about you.
How to seduce in English
I am having difficulty seducing you with my English vocabulary.
Baby I want you bad
I have a strong desire to be with you.
So why do you make it so hard to say yes
I am struggling to understand why you are making it difficult for me to be with you.
You, you, you got me feeling like I don't know
Your actions are causing me to feel uncertain about my feelings for you.
If I wanna stay, if I wanna go
I am unsure if I want to continue pursuing you or not.
I think I've lost all my control
You have caused me to lose control over my emotions and actions.
You got me feeling loco
Your actions are making me feel crazy.
Adios
Goodbye.
All I can say is adios
All I can do is bid you farewell.
Got me going loco
Your actions are making me feel crazy.
Loco, loco, loco
Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Crazy for your love
I am strongly attracted to you.
Adios
Goodbye.
All I can say is adios
All I can do is bid you farewell.
Got me going loco
Your actions are making me feel crazy.
Loco, loco, loco
Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Crazy for your love
I am strongly attracted to you.
Writer(s): Enric Madriguera, Eddie Woods
Contributed by Eliana T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.