Julie London (née Peck; September 26,1926 — October 18, 2000) was an Ameri… Read Full Bio ↴Julie London (née Peck; September 26,1926 — October 18, 2000) was an American jazz and pop singer and actress. She was noted for her smoky, sensual voice and languid demeanor. She released 32 albums of pop and jazz standards during the 1950s and 1960s, with her signature song being the classic "Cry Me a River," which she introduced in 1955.

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.

Blues in the Night
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

My mama done tol' me,
When I was in pig tails
My mama done tol' me,
Hon! A man's gonna sweet talk
And give ya the big eye;
But when the sweet talkin's done,
A man is a two face
A worrisome thing

Who'll leave ya t'sing
The blues in the night

Now the rain's a fallin',
Hear the train a callin'
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
Hear that lonesome whistle
Blowin' cross the trestle,
Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee, ol' clickety clack's
A echoin' back th' blues in the night

The evenin' breeze'll start the trees to cryin'
And the moon will hide its light
When you get the blues in the night
Take my word, the mockin' bird'll
Sing the saddest kind o' song
He knows things are wrong and he's right
Oh oh

From Natchez to Mobile,
From Memphis to St. Joe,
Wherever the four winds blow,
I been in some big towns,
I heard me some big talk,
But there is one thing I know
A man is a two face,
A worrisome thing
Who'll leave ya t'sing
The blues in the night
Oh oh

My mama was right, my mama was right
There's blues in the night

Overall Meaning

"Blues in the Night" is a melancholic and insightful song that describes the darker side of love and relationships. The opening lines, "My mama done tol' me, When I was in pig tails," suggest a nostalgic look back to a time of innocence and naivety. The lyrics caution about the seductive nature of men who sweet talk and give big eyes, only to reveal themselves as a "two face," who cause pain and leave one singing the "blues in the night." The song uses the sounds of a train and a lonesome whistle as a metaphor for the loneliness and despair of being alone and experiencing heartbreak.

The lyrics depict the emotions of someone who has traveled to different places and heard big talk about love, yet learns that the reality is often quite different than expected. The evening breeze makes trees cry, and the moon hides its light when one has the blues in the night. The song suggests that the mockingbird sings the saddest kind of song, as it knows things are wrong, and it's right to feel that way. The final lines of the song confirm the warning of the opening lines that "there's blues in the night," and the cycle of despair can continue.

Line by Line Meaning

My mama done tol' me,
My mother told me a long time ago

When I was in pig tails
When I was a little girl

Hon! A man's gonna sweet talk
A man will be charming and persuasive

And give ya the big eye;
And look at you in a certain way

But when the sweet talkin's done,
But when his charming words stop

A man is a two face
A man can be deceitful

A worrisome thing
A concerning matter

Who'll leave ya t'sing
That will make you sing

The blues in the night
A feeling of sadness at night

Now the rain's a fallin',
Currently, it's raining

Hear the train a callin'
Hear the sound of the train whistle

Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
Indicates the singer remembers her mother's previous advice

Hear that lonesome whistle
Listen to the sad sound of the train

Blowin' cross the trestle,
As it passes over the bridge

Whoo-ee (my mama done tol' me)
She remembers her mother's advice again

A whoo-ee-duh-whoo-ee, ol' clickety clack's
Sounds of the train passing through

A echoin' back th' blues in the night
And echoes the sadness of the night

The evenin' breeze'll start the trees to cryin'
The evening breeze will make the trees sway and sound as though they're crying

And the moon will hide its light
And the moon won't be visible

When you get the blues in the night
When you're feeling sad at night

Take my word, the mockin' bird'll
Believe me when I say the mockingbird will

Sing the saddest kind o' song
Sing a very sad song

He knows things are wrong and he's right
The mockingbird recognizes things are not right and sings accordingly

From Natchez to Mobile,
Travelling from Natchez to Mobile

From Memphis to St. Joe,
Travelling from Memphis to St. Joe

Wherever the four winds blow,
Wherever the wind takes me

I been in some big towns,
I've been to some large cities

I heard me some big talk,
I've heard some grand statements

But there is one thing I know
But I am sure of one thing

A man is a two face,
Men can be deceitful

A worrisome thing
A concerning matter

Who'll leave ya t'sing
That will make you sing

The blues in the night
A feeling of sadness at night

Oh oh
Vocalization expressing sadness

My mama was right, my mama was right
Affirming her mother's advice

There's blues in the night
There is sadness at night

Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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