Julie London (née Peck; September 26,1926 — October 18, 2000) was an Ameri… Read Full Bio ↴Julie London (née Peck; September 26,1926 — October 18, 2000) was an American jazz and pop singer and actress. She was noted for her smoky, sensual voice and languid demeanor. She released 32 albums of pop and jazz standards during the 1950s and 1960s, with her signature song being the classic "Cry Me a River," which she introduced in 1955.

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 Wanna Be Around
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I wanna be around to pick up the pieces
When somebody breaks your heart
Some somebody twice as smart as I

A somebody who will swear to be true
As you used to do with me
Who'll leave you to learn
That mis'ry loves company, wait and see

I mean, I wanna be around to see how he does it
When he breaks your heart to bits
Let's see if the puzzle fits so fine

And that's when I'll discover that revenge is sweet
As I sit there applaudin' from a front-row seat

When somebody breaks your heart
Like you, like you broke mine

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Julie London's popular song 'I Wanna Be Around' express a desire to be there for the one who broke your heart when they eventually fall victim to the same fate. The singer acknowledges that there will inevitably be someone smarter and more attractive than they themselves were, who will swear to be true just like they once did. The song moves on to suggest that this new love will eventually prove to be untrue, and the singer hopes to be there to pick up the pieces and find some satisfaction in the vengeful act of seeing them suffer as they once did.

The song expresses a common human longing to be vindicated, to prove that one's own love wasn't misplaced or unwarranted. It also highlights the way that we sometimes seek solace in the pain of others, perhaps out of a need to feel less alone in our own hurt. Ultimately, the song is both wistful and slightly cruel, as the singer looks forward to the eventual downfall of their former love.

Line by Line Meaning

I wanna be around to pick up the pieces
I want to be there to support you when someone breaks your heart.

When somebody breaks your heart
In the unfortunate event of someone breaking your heart.

Some somebody twice as smart as I
Someone smarter than me who has the ability to break your heart more intelligently.

A somebody who will swear to be true
A person who will promise to be faithful.

As you used to do with me
Like you used to promise to be true with me.

Who'll leave you to learn
This person will leave you alone so you can learn.

That mis'ry loves company, wait and see
You will see that misery likes having people around who share in it.

I mean, I wanna be around to see how he does it
I want to be there to see how this person breaks your heart.

When he breaks your heart to bits
When this person breaks your heart badly.

Let's see if the puzzle fits so fine
We will see how this situation plays out.

And that's when I'll discover that revenge is sweet
I will realize that getting revenge feels good in this situation.