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 Remember You
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're the one who made my dreams come true
A few kisses ago
I remember you
You're the one who said I love you too
I do, didn't you know
I remember too
And stars that fell
Like rain out of the blue
When my life is through
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of them all
Then I shall tell them I remember you
I remember too
A distant bell
And stars that fell
Like rain out of the blue
When my life is through
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of them all
Then I shall tell them I remember you
The lyrics of Julie London's song "I Remember You" describe a nostalgic memory of the one who made the singer's dreams come true, the one who said "I love you too." The singer remembers a distant bell and stars falling "like rain out of the blue," evoking a sense of wonder and awe. The lyrics suggest that when the singer's life is over and angels ask her to recall the thrill of it all, she will tell them that she remembers this person.
The lyrics of the song express a feeling of longing for a former lover or a time that has passed. The memory of the person who once made the singer's dreams come true is a powerful one, evoking a sense of joy and wonder. The distant bell and falling stars suggest that this was a magical time, one that the singer will always cherish. The song speaks to the power of memory and how it can create a connection to the past that is both bittersweet and beautiful.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember you
I haven't forgotten about you
You're the one who made my dreams come true
You helped me achieve my goals and aspirations
A few kisses ago
It wasn't too long ago that we were intimate
I remember you
I still think about you
You're the one who said I love you too
You reciprocated my feelings of love
I do, didn't you know
I love you too, I thought you already knew
A distant bell
A long time ago
And stars that fell like rain out of the blue
Unexpected moments of happiness
When my life is through
At the end of my life
And the angels ask me to recall
Reflecting on my past
The thrill of them all
All the exciting memories
Then I shall tell them I remember you
I'll make sure they know I still think about you
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Johnny Mercer, Victor Schertzinger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind