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.
Broken-Hearted Melody
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Once you were our song of love
Now you just keep taunting me
With the memory of (ba da da)
His tender love, oh broken hearted melody
Must you keep reminding me
Of the lips I long to kiss
And the love I miss since he went away
That broken hearted melody
That he used to sing to me
When our love was young and bright
And he held me tight suddenly I found
I was heaven bound broken hearted melody
Once you were our song of love
Now you just keep taunting me
With the memory of (ba da da)
His tender love, oh broken hearted melody
Won't you bring him back to me
Sing to him until he yearns
For when he returns no more will he play
Since he went away broken hearted melody
Broken hearted melody
The lyrics to Julie London's song "Broken-Hearted Melody" convey the pain and longing of a person who has been left heartbroken and haunted by the memory of a lost love. The song begins by acknowledging that this love was once their "song of love," a beautiful melody that represented their relationship. However, now it serves as a constant reminder of what has been lost. The person feels taunted by the "broken-hearted melody" that plays in their mind, bringing back memories of the tender love they used to share.
The lyrics express the longing for the touch of the loved one's lips, and the absence of their love since they went away. The person plays the broken-hearted melody day and night, symbolizing the continuous pain and yearning they feel. They remember how their love used to be passionate and bright, with tight embraces and sweet singing. But now, they feel like they are bound for heartbreak, as the melody continues to haunt them.
Ultimately, the singer pleads for the melody to bring their lost love back to them, hoping that singing the melody to them will make them yearn to return. They convey that once the loved one is back, they won't need to play the broken-hearted melody anymore.
Overall, the lyrics of "Broken-Hearted Melody" paint a picture of someone desperately missing their lost love and they are tormented by the memories of their past relationship. It captures the emotions of longing, pain, and the desire for a reconciliation.
Line by Line Meaning
Broken hearted melody
This song represents the pain and sorrow of a broken heart.
Once you were our song of love
In the past, this song was a representation of our love.
Now you just keep taunting me
But now, it only serves to torment and remind me of what we had.
With the memory of (ba da da)
Every time this song plays, it brings back memories of our lost love.
His tender love, oh broken hearted melody
The song reminds me of his affectionate love, which now only adds to the pain.
Must you keep reminding me
Why does this song constantly remind me of what I've lost?
Of the lips I long to kiss
It brings back the longing I have for his kisses.
And the love I miss since he went away
It also emphasizes the love I've been longing for since he left.
Night and day I play
Day and night, I keep playing this broken hearted melody.
That broken hearted melody
The melody that represents my broken heart.
That he used to sing to me
The song he used to sing to me when our love was alive.
When our love was young and bright
Back when our love was new and full of happiness.
And he held me tight suddenly I found
During those moments when he held me close, I felt secure and loved.
I was heaven bound broken hearted melody
In those moments, I felt like I was soaring to heaven with this song of love, but now it just brings heartbreak.
Once you were our song of love
Once again, this song was our symbol of love.
Now you just keep taunting me
But now, it continues to taunt and tease me with what I've lost.
Won't you bring him back to me
I long for this song to bring him back to me.
Sing to him until he yearns
I hope this song can touch his heart and make him yearn for our love again.
For when he returns no more will he play
If he comes back, he will no longer play this broken hearted melody.
Since he went away broken hearted melody
Since he left, this song has become a constant reminder of my broken heart.
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