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! (1972β1979), 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 BlasΓ©".
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.
I'd Like You for Christmas
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Please, make my wish come true
'Cause I'd trim trees and deck the hallways
If I knew you'd be mine for always
I won't be blue on Christmas
If old Saint Nick comes through
And he remembers that I'd like you for Christmas
(She'd like you for Christmas)
Please, make my wish come true
('Cause she'd trim trees and deck the hallways
If she knew you'd be hers for always)
I won't be blue on Christmas
If old Saint Nick comes through
And he remembers that I'd like you for Christmas
New Years, Easter, too
(New Years, Easter, too)
The song 'You' by Julie London is a romantic holiday ballad that expresses the singer's wishes for the perfect gift, which is the person she desires. The song's tone is characterized by the characteristic melancholic, jazzy sound of London's voice, which conveys the despair and hopefulness of the lyrics. The singer begins by pleading with a lover to make her Christmas wish come true, saying that she would go to great lengths to make him hers for always. She then states that if she doesn't receive this wish, she will be heartbroken and unhappy.
In the second verse, London continues to express her desire for her lover's affection, saying that she won't be sad on Christmas if she receives this gift. She implores Santa to remember her wish for her beloved, and that it extends beyond just the holiday season. The repetition of the first verse in the second with a different phrasing adds to the song's sense of longing and unrequited love.
The song conveys the pain of unrequited love and the hope of happy endings, which embodies the themes of many holiday songs. The singer's quavering voice adds to the song's melancholic feel, evoking nostalgia and the longing for what could be.
Line by Line Meaning
I'd like you for Christmas
The singer wants the person they are addressing to be with them on Christmas.
Please, make my wish come true
The singer is asking the person they are addressing to fulfill their wish of being together on Christmas.
'Cause I'd trim trees and deck the hallways
The singer is expressing their willingness to do all the usual Christmas decorations and preparations if the person they are addressing would be with them.
If I knew you'd be mine for always
The artist is stating that they would do anything to be with the person they are addressing forever, not just on Christmas.
I won't be blue on Christmas
The artist is expressing the feeling that they will not be sad or lonely on Christmas if they have the person they are addressing with them.
If old Saint Nick comes through
The singer is referencing Santa Claus and the possibility of him granting their wish.
And he remembers that I'd like you for Christmas
The singer is hoping that Santa Claus will remember their wish to spend Christmas with the person they are addressing.
New Years, Easter, too
The artist is expressing the desire to be with the person they are addressing not just on Christmas, but also on other holidays.
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Bobby Troup
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Motelli
I'd like you for Christmas
Please make my wish come true
'Cause I'd dream trees and deck the hallways
If I knew you'd be mine for always
I won't be blue on Christmas
If old Saint Nick comes through
And he remembers that I'd like you for Christmas, New Year's, Easter too
She'd like you for Christmas
Please make my wish come true
'Cause she'd dream dreams and deck the hallways
If she knew you'd be hers for always
I won't be blue on Christmas
If old Saint Nick comes through
And he remembers that I'd like you for Christmas, New Year's, Easter too
New Year's, Easter too
Thomas T
These old songs are so wonderful and sad at the same time. Like so many that are gone, at least we had her for a while. Merry Christmas everyone!
Jayson David
Julie London and your timeless voice. You are always in my heart <3
Joe Morin
Just love this song, all year round, beautiful song, beautiful lady, very classy, also a beautiful actress. Gone to soon, God bless you Julie London, now she's singing in Heaven.π
KY Stars
Just saw this after watching the movie P2.. Which was a scary Christmas movie.. but this song was in it.. and it made me go looking for it, and ah ha. I had no idea it was Julie London. wow what a beautiful voice she had and she was a beautiful woman. underrated really. Also I loved the background singers.. wow they were great as well . Merry Christmas everyone
Roger Sweet
Julie..as Peggy Lee..the top of the pops!:)
CSArock1 CSArock1
Great psycho movie. It is played wakes up after being kidnapped.
Jacob Geiger
Same here. Great movie....and song.
Tally Koren
I love pleasant, soft, sensual low female vocals!
Hech Rhymes
Best Christmas song I've ever heard.
Joseph Morin
I love this Christmas Song, I
Listen to it all year long.
Classy song, a very Classy
Lady, God Bless you
Julie London. πππ