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 Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I should have realized there'd be another man,
I overlooked that point completely,
Until the big affair began,
Before I knew where I was at,
I found myself upon the shelf, and that was that,
I tried to reach the moon but when I got there,
My feet are back upon the ground,
I've lost the one girl (man) I found,
I guess I'll have to change my plan,
I should have realized there'd be another man,
Why did I buy those blue pajamas,
Before the big affair began,
My boiling point is much to low
For me to try to be a fly lothario,
I think I'll crawl right back and into my shell,
Dwelling in my personal hell,
I'll have to change my plan around,
I've lost the one girl (man) I found.
In Julie London's song "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan," the singer speaks of a failed relationship and the realization that there was another man involved. The lyrics convey the idea that the singer was unaware of this other man until it was too late and the relationship had already broken. The singer expresses regret for not being aware of the situation earlier and for trying to compete with the other man.
The lyrics of the song suggest that the singer will have to "change [their] plan" as a result of this experience. This line implies that the singer will need to develop a new strategy for their love life in order to prevent similar occurrences in the future. The singer's willingness to change their plan suggests that they are open to growth and self-improvement.
Overall, the song captures the feelings of love, loss, and the need for personal growth. The singer acknowledges their own shortcomings and expresses a desire to learn from their experience and move on.
Line by Line Meaning
I guess I'll have to change my plan
I need to come up with a new plan of action.
I should have realized there'd be another man
I made a mistake in not considering the possibility of another person being involved.
I overlooked that point completely
I didn't pay enough attention to that detail.
Until the big affair began
That important point didn't become clear until the relationship turned serious.
Before I knew where I was at
I didn't realize the situation I was in until it was too late.
I found myself upon the shelf, and that was that
I was left single and didn't have anyone to turn to.
I tried to reach the moon but when I got there, all that I could get was the air
I went after something that was impossible to attain and ended up with nothing.
My feet are back upon the ground
I'm coming back to reality.
I've lost the one girl (man) I found
I'm no longer in a relationship with the person I was with.
Why did I buy those blue pajamas, before the big affair began
I made decisions that didn't quite make sense in hindsight due to my lack of awareness of the situation.
My boiling point is much too low
I can't handle stress and difficult situations very well.
For me to try to be a fly lothario
I'm not capable of being a smooth operator in relationships.
I think I'll crawl right back and into my shell
I'll go back to my old ways of being alone and not taking any risks.
Dwelling in my personal hell
I'm experiencing a lot of emotional pain and regret.
I'll have to change my plan around
I have to reconsider my approach to relationships and find a new plan of action.
I've lost the one girl (man) I found
I'm no longer with the person who I thought was the right one for me.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: ARTHUR SCHWARTZ, HOWARD DIETZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind