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.
Invitation to the Blues
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I had a brand new shine on my views
The roses you sent for
The line that I went for
Was just an invitation to the blues
The very thought of love was entrancing
I figured I had nothing to lose
Your smile so elusive, your kiss so exclusive
Was just an invitation to the blues
I went to town, priced a wedding gown
Put my little red book on the shelf
Hired a hall, got the band and all
And marched down the aisle by myself
I guess you can't depend on romancing
It puts your heart right down in your shoes
Instead of a wedding for which I was heading
I got an invitation to blues
"Invitation to the Blues" is a song written by Tom Waits, which was later covered by many popular artists such as Ray Price, Peggy Lee, and Julie London. While the song's melody is fairly upbeat, the lyrics are rather melancholic, detailing a love that was never meant to be. The song revolves around a woman's heartache as she realizes that the man she loves is never going to reciprocate her feelings. The roses and line that the singer falls for are merely a ruse, and the man eventually leaves her heartbroken.
The chorus of "Invitation to the Blues" highlights the theme of heartbreak and loss: "I got an invitation to the blues / And I don't know what to say / I've had a million invitations / And I've only been up this way." The singer was planning a wedding, but she finds out the hard way that love isn't always happy and that you can't always rely on it. The imagery used in the song is also worth noting, as it deepens the theme of sadness and longing. When the singer realizes that the man she loves doesn't feel the same way, she feels like "her heart's right down in her shoes." The song's final line, "I got an invitation to blues," is particularly poignant because it highlights how the singer's whole world has been turned upside down.
Line by Line Meaning
My heart was all dressed up to go dancing
I was looking forward to a night of happiness and enjoyment
I had a brand new shine on my views
I felt optimistic and positive about life
The roses you sent for
Your gesture of sending me flowers
The line that I went for
The sweet words you said to me
Was just an invitation to the blues
But it turned out to be a trap that led to sadness and heartache
The very thought of love was entrancing
Love seemed so alluring and captivating
I figured I had nothing to lose
I felt like I had nothing to lose by pursuing love
Your smile so elusive, your kiss so exclusive
Your smile and kiss were hard to get, which made them seem more desirable
Was just an invitation to the blues
But they only led me to sadness and heartache
I went to town, priced a wedding gown
I went shopping for a wedding dress
Put my little red book on the shelf
I put away my book of names and numbers of potential lovers
Hired a hall, got the band and all
I made arrangements for a big wedding celebration
And marched down the aisle by myself
But I ended up walking down the aisle alone
I guess you can't depend on romancing
I learned that love and romance aren't always reliable sources of happiness
It puts your heart right down in your shoes
In fact, they can often lead to great disappointment and sadness
Instead of a wedding for which I was heading
I had planned for a big wedding
I got an invitation to blues
But instead, my dreams were crushed and I was left with nothing but heartache
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
gerard carriere
la classe absolue !!! magnifique femme et magnifique chanteuse ...........
S Y
She looks like a siren, too! Yummy!