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.
If I Could Be with You
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All day through, I seem to say to you,
I did wrong when I let you go away,
'Cause now I dream about you night and day,
I'm so unhappy and dissatisfied
I'll be happy if I had you by my side,
If I could be with you one li'l hour tonight,
I want you to know you wouldn't go,
Until I told you that I loved you so.
If I could be with you I'd love you long,
If I could be with you I'd love you strong,
And I'm telling you for true, you'd be anything but blue,
If I could be with you
The lyrics of the song "If I Could Be with You" by Julie London convey a feeling of heartbreak and regret. The singer is expressing how miserable she feels now that she has lost her lover. She admits to herself that it was her mistake to let him go away and now she cannot stop thinking about him day and night.
As the song progresses, the singer paints a vivid picture of what it would be like if she could be with her lover for just one hour. She talks about how she would shower him with affection and love him long and strong, reassuring him that he has a special place in her heart. She also tells him that he would never be unhappy or feel blue, if only he could be with her.
The song has a slow, gentle melody that accompanies the mournful lyrics, adding to the overall feeling of sadness and regret. The singer's soulful voice conveys the depth of her feelings and enhances the emotional impact of the song.
Overall, "If I Could Be with You" is a classic torch song that captures the essence of heartbreak, longing, and regret.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm so blue, I don't know what to do,
I'm feeling sad and blue and don't know what to do.
All day through, I seem to say to you,
All day long, I keep thinking of you and wishing you were here.
I did wrong when I let you go away,
I regret letting you go and now I realize it was wrong of me to do so.
'Cause now I dream about you night and day,
I can't stop dreaming about you every night and day.
I'm so unhappy and dissatisfied
I'm feeling unhappy and dissatisfied with my life without you.
I'll be happy if I had you by my side,
I know I'll be happy if you were with me.
If I could be with you one li'l hour tonight,
If I could spend just one hour with you tonight.
And free to do all those little things I might,
And do all those things I've been wanting to do with you.
I want you to know you wouldn't go,
I want you to know that you won't leave my sight.
Until I told you that I loved you so.
I won't let you go until I express my love for you.
If I could be with you I'd love you long,
If I could be with you, I'd love you for a long time.
If I could be with you I'd love you strong,
If I could be with you, I'd love you with all my strength.
And I'm telling you for true, you'd be anything but blue,
And I can assure you that you won't feel sad and blue anymore.
If I could be with you
If I could just be with you.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HENRY CREAMER, JAMES P JOHNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind