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 a Crush On You
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would be to capture me
But you had such persistence, you wore down my resistance
I fell and it was swell
I'm your big and brave and handsome Romeo
How I won you I shall never, never know
It's not that you're attractive
When you came into view
I've got a crush on you, sweetie pie
All the day and night-time give me sign
I never had the least notion that
I could fall with so much emotion
Could you coo, could you care
For a cunning cottage we could share
The world will pardon my mush
'Cause I have got a crush on you
Could you coo, could you care
For a cunning cottage
That we could share
The world will pardon my mush
'Cause I have got a crush, my baby, on you
The first verse of Julie London's "I've Got A Crush On You" talks about how many Annabelles and Lillians would love to have the singer's attention, but the persistence of the person she is singing to paid off and won her over. She acknowledges that it wasn't necessarily the person's physical appearance that attracted her to them, but the effect they had on her heart when they entered her life. The chorus repeats the sentiment that the person she is singing to has captured her heart, and that she has a crush on them. In the final verse, she asks if they would be willing to share a cottage together and declares her mushiness is pardonable because she is so enamored with them.
Line by Line Meaning
How glad the many millions of Annabelles and Lillians
There are many women out there, but Annabelles and Lillians in particular, who would love to be with me.
Would be to capture me
These women would love to be in a relationship with me.
But you had such persistence, you wore down my resistance
You pursued me persistently until I finally gave in and accepted your affections.
I fell and it was swell
I fell in love with you and it felt great.
I'm your big and brave and handsome Romeo
You see me as a brave, masculine hero like Romeo.
How I won you I shall never, never know
I am not sure how I was able to win you over.
It's not that you're attractive
It's not just your physical appearance that made me fall in love with you.
But, oh, my heart grew active
But something about you made my heart come alive.
When you came into view
When I first saw you.
I've got a crush on you, sweetie pie
I have developed a strong infatuation with you, my dear.
All the day and night-time give me sign
I am constantly looking for signs of your affection throughout the day and night.
I never had the least notion that
I never expected that
I could fall with so much emotion
I could develop such strong feelings for someone.
Could you coo, could you care
Can you show me affection?
For a cunning cottage we could share
We could share a small, cozy home together.
The world will pardon my mush
The world will forgive my foolish and overly sentimental behavior.
'Cause I have got a crush on you
Because I am so infatuated with you, my baby.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind