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've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(do do-do do do do-do)
The snow is snowing and the wind is blowing
But I can weather the storm!
What do I care how much it may storm?
For I've got my love to keep me warm
I can't remember a worse December
Oh, what do I care if icicles form?
Oh, I've got my love to keep me warm
Off with my overcoat, off with my glove
I need no overcoat, I'm burning with love!
My heart's on fire, the flame grows higher
So I will weather the storm!
What do I care how much it may storm?
Oh, I've got my love to keep me warm
The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing
But I can weather the storm!
What do I care how much it may storm?
Oh, I've got my love to keep me warm
I can't remember a worse December
Just watch those icicles form!
What do I care if icicles form?
Oh-ho-ho, I've got my love to keep me warm
Off with my overcoat, off with my glove
I need no overcoat, I'm burning with love!
My heart's on fire, the flame grows higher
So I will weather the storm!
What do I care how much it may storm?
Oh, I've got my love to keep me warm
Julie London's song "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a song about the power of love to keep people warm and happy even in the middle of a cold, stormy winter. The song talks about the snow snowing and the wind blowing, but the singer emboldens herself that she can weather the storm because she has her love to keep her warm. The chorus repeats this sentiment and again emphasizes that even though the weather may be inclement, she has the warmth of her heart to keep her going.
The song continues to talk about how the cold and snow may be dreadful, but she doesn't care because her love for someone keeps her. The singer even goes on to say that she'll shed her overcoat and gloves because she's burning with love. She proclaims that her heart is on fire, and the flame grows higher, and "I will weather the storm."
Overall, Julie London's "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a lovely song about the warmth and hope that love can provide even in the midst of cold and tempestuous circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
The snow is snowing and the wind is blowing
It's snowing and windy outside.
But I can weather the storm!
I can handle the bad weather.
What do I care how much it may storm?
I'm not worried about the storm's severity.
For I've got my love to keep me warm
Because I have someone I love, I'll stay warm.
I can't remember a worse December
This December has been terrible for me.
Just watch those icicles form!
I'm watching icicles form outside.
Oh, what do I care if icicles form?
I don't care about the icicles forming.
Oh, I've got my love to keep me warm
Because I have someone I love, I'll stay warm.
Off with my overcoat, off with my glove
I'm taking off my coat and gloves.
I need no overcoat, I'm burning with love!
I'm so in love that I don't need a coat to stay warm.
My heart's on fire, the flame grows higher
I'm deeply passionate about my love.
So I will weather the storm!
Because I have someone I love, I'll handle the bad weather easily.
Oh-ho-ho, I've got my love to keep me warm
Because I have someone I love, I'll stay warm.
The snow is snowing, the wind is blowing
It's still snowing and windy outside.
What do I care how much it may storm?
I'm not worried about the storm's severity.
Oh, I've got my love to keep me warm
Because I have someone I love, I'll stay warm.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind