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.

Call Me Irresponsible
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Since I'm always making resolutions
Seems every night for me is New Year's eve
Things they chisel on those institutions

These lofty thoughts I've never quite achieved
Each time I take a bow when everything went well
Things go alright and there am I saying I meant well

Well, call me irresponsible, call me unreliable
Throw in undependable, too
Do my foolish alibis bore you?
Well, I'm not too clever, I just adore you

Call me unpredictable, tell me I'm impractical
Rainbows, I'm inclined to pursue

Call me irresponsible, yes, I'm unreliable
But it's undeniably true, I'm irresponsibly mad for you

Overall Meaning

"Call Me Irresponsible" is a song that describes the charming yet erratic behavior of the singer. The lyrics suggest that the singer is not capable of fulfilling the resolutions that they make for themselves and that their life is a continuous cycle of unfulfilled goals. The opening lyrics "Since I'm always making resolutions, seems every night for me is New Year's eve" highlights the singer's constant desire to change and improve, yet their inability to follow through.

The lyrics continue to describe how the singer's flaws are well-known, "Things they chisel on those institutions, these lofty thoughts I've never quite achieved." The singer acknowledges that they have failed to meet society's expectations and their own aspirations, making them feel irresponsible, unreliable and undependable. The line "Each time I take a bow when everything went well, Things go alright and there I am saying I meant well," suggests that despite realizing their shortcomings, their promises to do better are insincere.

However, the song takes a romantic turn with the chorus. The singer asks to be called unpredictable and impractical, as they are attracted to chasing rainbows, symbolizing the pursuit of the impossible. They encourage their lover to call them irresponsible and unreliable as it is "undeniably true" that they are madly in love with them. The singer's character flaws are considered charming and endearing in the face of their love.

Overall, the song can be interpreted as a self-aware admission of flaws that are perceived as weaknesses in society, but when considered in the context of a loving relationship, become virtues.

Call Me IrresponsibleJulie London Lyrics

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Call Me Irresponsible
Julie London Lyrics