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.
I'll Remember April
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'll sigh good-bye to all we've ever had,
Alone where we have walked together,
I'll remember April and be glad
I'll be content, you loved me once in April,
Your lips were warm, and love and spring were new,
But I'm not afraid of autumn, and her sorrow,
April and you!
The fire will dwindle into glowing ashes,
For flames and love live such a little while
I won't forget, but I won't be lonely,
I'll remember April, and I'll smile
The song "I'll Remember April" by Julie London talks about the memories of a past love that happened in the spring season. The first stanza mentions how the day will turn into night and how they will have to say goodbye to everything they have shared before. The singer talks about being alone in the place where they used to walk together, but instead of being sad, the singer will remember the memories they shared in April and be glad. This refers to the time when they were still in love and everything was still new, including their love for each other.
The second stanza talks about how the singer is satisfied with the memory of their past love that happened in April. The singer remembers how they loved each other intensely in the spring season, and the singer is not fearing the autumn season of their lives where things would start to change, and they will be separated as time passes. However, the singer knows that they will never forget those moments because they will always remember the past love they shared in April. Even though the love between them has waned, they will always smile when they remember the time they had together.
Line by Line Meaning
This lovely day will lengthen into evening,
This beautiful day will eventually turn into night,
We'll sigh good-bye to all we've ever had,
We will say goodbye to everything we've ever shared,
Alone where we have walked together,
Now alone in places where we once walked together,
I'll remember April and be glad
But I will remember the month of April and feel joy
I'll be content, you loved me once in April,
I'll be satisfied knowing that you once loved me in April
Your lips were warm, and love and spring were new,
We shared warmth in our kiss, and the love and season were fresh and new
But I'm not afraid of autumn, and her sorrow,
I'm not scared of autumn and its sadness
For I'll remember,
Because I'll recall
April and you!
April, and especially you!
The fire will dwindle into glowing ashes,
The flame will eventually fade into glowing ashes,
For flames and love live such a little while
Because both flames and love have a brief lifespan
I won't forget, but I won't be lonely,
I won't forget, but I won't feel lonely either
I'll remember April, and I'll smile
I'll recall the memories of April and smile
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON RAYE, GENE DE PAUL, PATRICIA JOHNSTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind