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 Should Lose You
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The stars would fall from the sky
If I should lose you
The leaves would wither and die
The birds in Maytime
Would sing a mournful refrain
And I would wander around
With you beside me
The rose would bloom in the snow
With you beside me
No winds of winter would blow
I gave you my love
And I was living a dream
But living would seem in vain
If I lost you
The lyrics of Julie London's song, "If I Should Lose You," express the feeling of the singer, who is heavily reliant on her lover or partner. The first stanza of the song, "If I should lose you, the stars would fall from the sky; if I should lose you, the leaves would wither and die," show how essential the partner is to the singer. Losing the partner would mean destruction to what the singer holds the most valuable.
The second stanza uses imagery of the birds in Maytime, which usually represents love and the start of a new beginning. However, the lyrics talk about how even the birds would have a mournful refrain, indicative of a looming sadness if the subject of the singer leaves. The singer would then become engulfed in her misery, hating the very sound of rain, something that usually signifies rejuvenation of life.
The third stanza describes the hope that the singer has when the lover is by her side. The rose, which represents love and beauty, will bloom in the snow, representing the hard times in life. Even in the worst situations, the lover by her side provides comfort and hope, making the most challenging times more endurable.
Overall, "If I Should Lose You" is a heartbreaking song, one that showcases how important love is and how the absence of it can make the very things that represent joy and happiness turn into an unbearable agony.
Line by Line Meaning
If I should lose you
The singer expresses their fear of losing their loved one.
The stars would fall from the sky
The loss of the loved one would cause the singer to feel like the world is ending.
If I should lose you
The singer repeats their fear of losing their loved one due to its overwhelming nature.
The leaves would wither and die
The loss of the loved one would leave the artist feeling empty and lifeless like the plants around them.
The birds in Maytime
The artist describes the seasonal beauty that they would no longer appreciate without their loved one.
Would sing a mournful refrain
The birds would no longer sing cheerfully as the loss of the loved one would make everything seem melancholic.
And I would wander around
The singer would be lost and aimless without their loved one.
Hating the sound of rain
The artist would even hate the sound of something as natural as rain as it would only remind them of their loss.
With you beside me
The artist values the comfort their loved one provides them with.
The rose would bloom in the snow
The presence of their loved one would make everything appear more beautiful and hopeful, even the unlikely sight of a rose blooming in the snow.
With you beside me
The singer repeats the importance of having their loved one by their side.
No winds of winter would blow
The artist feels protected and safe with their loved one's presence, and nothing could shake that feeling.
I gave you my love
The singer expresses that they had given their all in the relationship.
And I was living a dream
Being with their loved one felt like a dream come true.
But living would seem in vain
If they were to lose their loved one, everything would feel pointless or meaningless.
If I lost you
The artist reiterates their fear and the finality of losing their loved one.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RALPH E GRAHAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind