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.
Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But a fool can have his charms
I'm in love and don't I show it
Like a babe in arms
Love's the same old sad sensation
Lately I've not slept a wink
Since this silly situation
I'm wild again, beguiled again
A simpering, whimpering child again
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I
Couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep
Love came and told me I shouldn't sleep
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I
I lost my heart but what of it?
He is cold, I agree
He might laugh but I love it
Although the laugh's on me
I'll sing to him, bring Spring to him
And long for the day when I'll cling to him
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I
I lost my heart but what of it
He is cold I agree
He might laugh but I love him
Although the laugh's on me
I'll sing to him, bring spring to him
I'll long for the day when I'll cling to him
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I
Bewitched bothered and bewildered am I
In Julie London's song "Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered," the singer is confessing to being head over heels in love with someone who may not be deserving of her affection. She acknowledges the foolishness of being in love with someone who may not reciprocate her feelings, but she cannot help herself. It is as if she is under a spell, bewitched by his charms. She compares herself to a "babe in arms," helpless and vulnerable to his influence. She is experiencing the universal sensation of love, which can be simultaneously thrilling and painful. Love leaves her sleepless and bewildered, unsure of what to do. She feels like a child again, infatuated with this person who does not necessarily return her feelings.
Despite knowing that the object of her affection is not necessarily right for her, she cannot help but be enamored with him. She admits that he is cold and may even laugh at her infatuation with him, yet she is nonetheless smitten. She hopes that she can eventually win him over, singing to him and bringing spring to him, waiting for the day when she can cling to him. The repetition of the titular phrase "bewitched, bothered, and bewildered" emphasizes the singer's sense of being under a spell or in a trance-like state because of her love.
Line by Line Meaning
He's a fool and don't I know it
I am aware of his foolishness
But a fool can have his charms
Regardless of his lack of intelligence, he has qualities that attract me
I'm in love and don't I show it
I cannot suppress my feelings of love for him
Like a babe in arms
I feel helpless and vulnerable like a newborn child
Love's the same old sad sensation
The feeling of love is repetitive and typically results in sadness
Lately I've not slept a wink
I have been unable to sleep lately
Since this silly situation
This foolish circumstance
Has me on the blink
Has caused me to be frantic and nervous
I'm wild again, beguiled again
I am consumed by passion and captivated by him once again
A simpering, whimpering child again
I feel weak and helpless like a dependent child
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I
I am completely overwhelmed with feelings of love and confusion
Couldn't sleep and wouldn't sleep
I was unable to sleep and also unwilling to miss out on the experience of love
Love came and told me I shouldn't sleep
My feelings of love were so intense that I was advised against sleeping
I lost my heart but what of it?
I have given my heart to him, but it does not matter
He is cold, I agree
I acknowledge that he is emotionally distant
He might laugh but I love it
Although he may mock me, I find it endearing
Although the laugh's on me
Despite the fact that I am the one being ridiculed
I'll sing to him, bring Spring to him
I will express my love for him through music and bring new life to our relationship
And long for the day when I'll cling to him
I eagerly anticipate the time when I can be close to him
Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered am I
I am completely overwhelmed with feelings of love and confusion
Lyrics © DistroKid, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@frederben4776
One of the best female vocalists ever. I was in love with her in the early 60's
@Tallykoren
I love pleasant, soft, sensual low female vocals!
@MicheleVK
Timeless music that even Old Rockers eventually fall in love with. ;)
@Hyramess
Never can listen to something as appealing and relaxing as this smoky, sexy, sophisticated arrangement of a great American classic without looking back with deep regret that this lovely world got buried beneath the avalanche of offal that is Rock 'n Roll -- a ruinous assault on our culture from which we'll never recover, I fear.
@ianmcgeachy
This has got that smooth 50s Nat King Cole style production with orchestra...very much of its time but extremely listenable. Julie had a fantastic voice didnt she- a beautiful sound.-Ian
@jeffkennerson7463
I LOVE HER VELVET VOICE
@MarkBlackburnWPG
Earlier this hour, Sirius radio played Julie London's beautiful version of DON'T WORRY 'BOUT ME. I no sooner locate it moments ago on Youtube than -- next up, this track. If I didn't know better I'd say What a coincidence! A three-word diagnosis /comment below this video: "Better than viagra."
Yes, "definitive version," as you say MicheleVK -- thanks for sharing.
@julissalaguna6931
Good song
@annettewalker9639
Before she was Nurse Dixie from "Emergency."
@georgesaxman1461
Better than viagra