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.

How About Me
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's over, all over
And soon somebody else
Will make a fuss about you
But how about me?

It's over, all over
And soon somebody else
Will tell her/his friends about you

But what about me?

You'll find somebody new
But what am I to do
I'll still remember you
When you have forgotten

And maybe a baby
Will climb upon your knee
And put its arms about you
But how about me?

And maybe a baby
Will climb upon your knee
And put its arms about you
But how about me?

It's over
But how about me?

Overall Meaning

Julie London's "How About Me" is a song that perfectly exemplifies the pain and loneliness that comes with the end of a relationship. The entire song is about the inevitability of her ex-partner moving on with someone else, while she's left to suffer the consequences of their separation. London's repeated use of the lines "It's over, all over, and soon somebody else will make a fuss about you. But how about me?" powerfully illustrates her feeling of abandonment and jealousy towards her ex-partner.

The second verse of the song only adds to London's sense of betrayal. She sings "You'll find somebody new but what am I to do, I'll still remember you when you have forgotten." This line emphasizes how even though her ex-partner will likely move on with someone else, for London, the memories of their time together will be something she'll carry with her forever.

The song ends with a poignant reference to the future, suggesting that even if her ex-partner moves on to have children, she'll still be alone, asking "But how about me? It's over, but how about me?" This final question that lies at the heart of the song perfectly describes the sense of isolation and pain that comes from the end of a relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

It's over, all over
Our relationship has officially come to an end

And soon somebody else
You'll move on to another romantic partner

Will tell her/his friends about you
Your new partner will gossip about you to their friends

But what about me?
What will happen to me now that our relationship is over?

You'll find somebody new
You'll meet a new romantic partner

But what am I to do
I don't know what to do without you in my life

I'll still remember you
I will always hold memories of you in my heart

When you have forgotten
Even if you forget about me, I'll still remember you

And maybe a baby
You might have a child

Will climb upon your knee
The child will sit on your lap

And put its arms about you
The child will hug you