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 Got Lost In His Arms
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was dark in his arms and I lost my way
From the dark came a voice
And it seemed to say
There you go
There you go
But his arms held me fast and it broke the fall
And I said to my heart
As it foolishly kept jumping all around
I got lost but look what I found
(Orchestral Interlude)
(There you go, there you go)
How I felt as I fell I just can't recall
But his arms held me fast and it broke the fall
And I said to my heart
As it foolishly kept jumping all around
I got lost but look what I found
Julie London's "I Got Lost in His Arms" is a song about being swept away by love and feeling lost in the intensity of a romantic connection. The lyrics suggest that the singer may have been hesitant or uncertain at first, but that once she gave herself over to the moment, she found herself completely immersed in her lover's embrace. The darkness in his arms symbolizes a sense of mystery and the unknown, which only adds to the thrill of the experience.
The line "there you go" may represent the singer's subconscious voice, urging her to let go of her reservations and surrender to her feelings. The subsequent lines about falling and being caught by her lover's arms reinforce the idea of trust and safety in their relationship. The final line, "I got lost but look what I found," suggests that the singer has discovered something valuable and transformative through her love, even if it came with some risks and challenges.
Overall, the song is a nostalgic tribute to the experience of falling in love, complete with all its exhilarating highs and disorienting lows. The melody and orchestration add to the dreamy, romantic feel of the piece, making it a classic example of mid-century easy listening music.
Line by Line Meaning
got lost in his arms and I had to stay
I became so enveloped in his embrace that I couldn't bear to leave
It was dark in his arms and I lost my way
I was so consumed by his presence that I lost track of time and space
From the dark came a voice
Amidst the embrace, I heard a voice from deep within me
And it seemed to say
This inner voice spoke softly and had a soothing effect upon me
There you go
This inner voice spoke words of reassurance and encouragement to me
There you go
These encouraging words continued to resonate within me
How I felt as I fell I just can't recall
As I got lost in his arms, I lost touch with my senses and my memory failed me
But his arms held me fast and it broke the fall
Despite my inability to control my emotions or movements, he held me tightly and kept me from falling
And I said to my heart
As I gradually regained my composure, I spoke to myself
As it foolishly kept jumping all around
Even though my heart was still overjoyed and erratic
I got lost but look what I found
I got lost in him, but in doing so, I found something truly special and worthwhile
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind