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.
Julie London -How deep is the ocean
Julie London Lyrics
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I'll tell you no lie
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How many times a day do I think of you?
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How far would I travel
To be where you are?
How far is the journey
From here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean?
How high is the sky?
How high is the sky?
The lyrics of How Deep Is the Ocean by Julie London explore the depths of love felt by the singer for her beloved. The opening lines express the depth of the singer's love, declaring that she will not tell a lie about its intensity. She then uses a series of rhetorical questions to further emphasize the depth and vastness of her feelings. The lyrics employ imagery of the ocean and sky to convey the scale of her emotions, with the repetition of "how deep" and "how high" emphasizing the magnitude of her love. She also uses questions about how frequently she thinks of her beloved and how much she would cry if she lost them to reinforce the all-encompassing nature of her love.
The repetition of the final verse reiterates the central question of the song: how deep is the ocean, and how high is the sky? By echoing these lines, London emphasizes that her feelings cannot be quantified or measured. The overall effect of the lyrics is one of overwhelming passion and devotion, with the singer expressing a boundless and enduring love.
Line by Line Meaning
How much do I love you?
I will express my affection honestly and fully
I'll tell you no lie
I won't deceive you in any way
How deep is the ocean?
The extent of my love for you is immeasurable
How high is the sky?
My adoration for you is boundless
How many times a day do I think of you?
Thoughts of you fill my mind throughout the day
How many roses are sprinkled with dew?
The little things I associate with you make them all the more special
How far would I travel
I would go to great lengths
To be where you are?
Just to be near you
How far is the journey
The distance is insignificant
From here to a star?
Compared to my love for you, even the farthest celestial body seems attainable
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
The thought of losing you is unbearable
How deep is the ocean?
It would be a pain as vast as the sea
How high is the sky?
A sorrow that would reach the heavens
How high is the sky?
A love so great that it knows no bounds
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind