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.

Charade
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When we played our charade
We were like children posing
Playing at games, acting out names
Guessing the parts we played

Oh what a hit we made
We came on next to closing
Best on the bill, lovers until

Love left the masquerade

Fate seemed to pull the strings
I turned and you were gone
While from the darkened wings
That music box played on

Sad little serenade
Song of my heart's composing
I hear it still, I always will

Best on the bill
Charade

Overall Meaning

The song "Charade" by Julie London seems to describe a romantic relationship that deteriorated over time. The first verse speaks of the couple playing a game of charades where they were posing like children and acting out names. The second line suggests that the game of charades might have been a metaphor for the relationship itself, where the couple was just playing at being in love. The line "guessing the parts we played" suggests that they were not sincere in their love for each other.

In the chorus, London describes their relationship as a hit that came on next to closing, meaning that it was good for a while, but eventually came to an end. She describes them as being "lovers until love left the masquerade," indicating that they were only acting in their relationship and once the charade was up, they drifted apart.

The last verse speaks of fate "pulling the strings" and suddenly the person she was in love with was gone, leaving her with a "sad little serenade," which is likely a reference to the music box playing on in the background. Overall, "Charade" is a melancholy song about love and loss that captures the fleeting nature of relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

When we played our charade
When we pretended to be someone we're not

We were like children posing
We felt innocent and playful

Playing at games, acting out names
We enjoyed pretending to be other people

Guessing the parts we played
We were unsure of who we truly were

Oh what a hit we made
We were successful in our charade

We came on next to closing
We saved the best for last

Best on the bill, lovers until
We were the stars, in love with each other

Love left the masquerade
Our love ended once the pretending stopped

Fate seemed to pull the strings
We were not in control of our destiny

I turned and you were gone
You left without warning

While from the darkened wings
From a hidden place