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.
Guilty Heart
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now it's time to feel the sting of love.
You were wrong right the very start,
You were wrong, my guilty heart.
Love's a game i only meant to play
How could I have known you'd give yourself away
Heart to a heart and so I lost the game,
Guilty heart you always give so much
All the time you want to share so much
There's one thing I must confess to you,
Guilty heart, I'm guilty too
It's true my heart,
I'm guilty too.
The lyrics of Julie London's song "Guilty Heart" explore the feelings of regret, remorse, and accountability for one's own actions in a romantic relationship. The song implies that the singer's "guilty heart" has been unfaithful and has hurt someone they loved. The first verse serves as an acknowledgement of the consequence of the singer's infidelity: now they must face the "sting of love" which may be interpreted as the pain of heartbreak or the guilt of their actions. In the second verse, the singer reflects on how they saw love as a mere game, but they ended up losing it because they underestimated the other person's genuine feelings. The bridge of the song reveals that the singer's guilty heart has always been willing to give, but they must also confess that they are guilty of hurting someone who loved them.
Overall, the lyrics of "Guilty Heart" convey a sense of self-reflection and an attempt at accepting responsibility for one's actions. It's a poignant reminder that even though love can be a game, it's essential to value the other person's emotions and not take them for granted.
Line by Line Meaning
Guilty heart, you've had your fling at love,
You have had your share of love affairs that have not ended well.
Now it's time to feel the sting of love.
You are now experiencing the pain of a love that didn't work out.
You were wrong right the very start,
You knew from the beginning that what you were getting into was wrong.
You were wrong, my guilty heart.
You made the mistake of giving in to your desires and ignoring the consequences.
Love's a game i only meant to play
You approached love as a game that you wanted to win.
How could I have known you'd give yourself away
You did not predict that the other person would deeply fall in love with you.
Heart to a heart and so I lost the game,
Both parties in the relationship gave their all but things didn't work out, leading to heartbreak.
Guilty heart, you are to blame.
You are the one responsible for the relationship's failure.
Guilty heart you always give so much
You often put your everything into each relationship without setting any boundaries.
All the time you want to share so much
You always want to open yourself up and share everything with the other person.
There's one thing I must confess to you,
There is something that I have been holding back from you that I need to admit.
Guilty heart, I'm guilty too
I also played a part in the relationship's failure and take responsibility.
It's true my heart,
Indeed, what I am saying is true.
I'm guilty too.
I also deserve to be blamed for what happened.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALFRED PERRY, BARRY R. DE VORZON, JIMMIE HASKELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind