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'm Glad There Is You
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Extraordinary people
I′m glad there is you
In this world of overrated pleasures
And underrated treasures
I'm glad there is you
I live to love I love to live
This role so new I′ll muddle through
With you to guide me
In this world where many many play at love
But hardly any stay in love
I'm glad there is you
More than ever
I'm glad there is you
The song "I'm Glad There Is You" by Julie London is a beautiful love song that expresses the singer's joy at the presence of her significant other in her life. The lyrics use contrasting pairs of words to emphasize the specialness of the relationship, such as "ordinary people" and "extraordinary people," as well as "overrated pleasures" and "underrated treasures." The song's message is clear: among all the noise and chaos of the world, love is the one thing that truly matters, and having someone to share that love with is a source of great joy.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of the singer's partner in her life. She notes that she lives to love and loves to live, but that having her partner beside her makes all the difference. The line "this role so new I'll muddle through" suggests that the relationship is still in its early stages, but the singer is confident that they will navigate it together with the help of her partner's guidance.
The final verse of the song acknowledges the difficulty of finding lasting love in a world where many people only "play at love." However, the singer is grateful that she and her partner have found each other and are genuinely committed to staying in love. The repetition of the phrase "I'm glad there is you" reinforces the singer's gratitude and emphasizes the central message of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
In this world of ordinary people
Amidst the usual and mundane crowd of this world
Extraordinary people
Those who are unique and exceptional
I'm glad there is you
I am grateful that you exist in this world
In this world of overrated pleasures
Where things that are not truly valuable are often overhyped
And underrated treasures
While things that are truly valuable are often overlooked and undervalued
I'm glad there is you
I am happy that you are in my life
I live to love I love to live
My purpose in life is to love and be loved
With you beside me
And having you with me helps me fulfill that purpose
This role so new I'll muddle through
Even though I am unsure and inexperienced in this situation
With you to guide me
I am confident that with your support and guidance, I will succeed
In this world where many many play at love
In a world where many people pretend to be in love
But hardly any stay in love
But not many people are able to sustain love for the long term
I'm glad there is you
I'm grateful that we have found true love with each other
More than ever
Especially now, I appreciate having you in my life more than ever
Writer(s): Dorsey Jimmy, Madeira Paul
Contributed by Skyler O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.