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.
Evenin'
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you find me, you always remind me
That my man is gone
Oh evening, can't you see I'm in your deep hour
Every minute seems just like an hour
Since my man has gone
That's the time I miss your kisses most of all
Even though I cry, how can I go on?
Evening, let me sleep, great dawn is breaking
I don't care if I just awaken
Now my man is gone
Evening, every night you come and you
Why must you always remind me
That my man is gone
Can't you see I'm in your power?
Every minute seem just like an hour
Since my man has gone
Shadows fall on the wall
That's the time I miss your kisses most of all
Even though I cry, how can I go on?
Evening, let me sleep, the great dawn is breaking
I don't care if I never awaken
Now my man is gone
Now my man is gone
How I dread evening
The lyrics of Julie London's song "Evenin'" speak of the feeling of loneliness and longing after a loved one has gone. The imagery painted in the words is that of evening arriving every night, a time when the shadows fall on the wall and the absence of the loved one is felt even more keenly. The singer pleads with the evening to let her sleep, as the breaking dawn brings no relief to the pain of the lost love.
The lyrics are simple yet poignant, and they evoke a sense of sadness and despair that many can relate to. The repetition of the line "That my man is gone" emphasizes the sense of loss and the inability to move on from the absence of the loved one. The use of the word "power" in the line "Can't you see I'm in your power?" suggests a feeling of helplessness, where the singer feels trapped in the grip of the evening and unable to escape the memories of the past.
Overall, the lyrics of "Evenin'" provide a powerful insight into the emotions and experiences of loss and heartbreak. They convey a sense of longing and pain that is universal and timeless.
Line by Line Meaning
Evening, every night you come
The singer is addressing the time of evening that arrives every night without fail.
And you find me, you always remind me
The singer feels that the evening is finding her and always reminding her of her loneliness.
That my man is gone
The singer is reminded constantly of her lost partner by the evening.
Oh evening, can't you see I'm in your deep hour
The singer feels engulfed by the deep feeling of evening and its associated sadness.
Every minute seems just like an hour
The singer feels that time is passing slowly and each minute feels long and painful.
Since my man has gone
The loss of the singer's partner is what is making time so painful.
Shadows fall on the wall
The shadows that fall on the wall serves as a visual reminder of the darkness the singer feels inside.
That's the time I miss your kisses most of all
Evening is the time when the singer finds herself missing her partner's affection the most.
Even though I cry, how can I go on?
The singer is questioning how to continue on with life despite the intense sadness she feels.
Evening, let me sleep, great dawn is breaking
The singer is pleading with the evening to let her be and allow her to sleep through the painful time of day, with the hope that morning will eventually come.
I don't care if I just awaken
The singer doesn't care if she ever wakes up again, indicating a deep despair.
Now my man is gone
The reason for the singer's sadness is the loss of her partner.
How I dread evening
The singer expresses her fear of evening and the pain it brings.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HARRY A. WHITE, MITCHELL PARISH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind