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.

Let There Be Love -
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let there be you,
Let there be me.
Let there be oysters
Under the sea.

Let there be wind,
An occassional rain.

Chile con carne,
Sparkling champagne --

Let there be birds
To sing in the trees,
Someone to bless me
Whenever I sneeze.

Let there be cuckoos,
A lark and a dove,
But first of all, please --
Let there be love.

~interlude~

Let there be cuckoos,
A lark and a dove,
But first of all, please --
Let there be love...

Hmmm umm...love

Hmmm umm...love

Let there be love.

Overall Meaning

The song "Let There Be Love" by Julie London is a classic love song which talks about the different things that make life beautiful and complete, but above all, the most important thing is love. The singer starts by emphasizing the importance of having someone in her life, expressing the desire for both herself and her partner to coexist harmoniously, like oysters under the sea. The line implies the desire for both individuals to complement each other and complete each other.

The second verse mentions other facets of life such as nature, food, and drink. The mention of wine shows her desire for a special occasion to share with someone. She then mentions the presence of birds and someone to bless her when she sneezes. These elements illustrate that having the right environment and a loving partner is important in life.

In the end, the singer emphasizes that all these elements of life are meaningless without love. The song's repeated chorus line "let there be love" is the songwriter's message to the world to desire love above all things. This song encourages people to cherish and prioritize love over material things, as it is the most vital aspect of humanity.

Line by Line Meaning

Let there be you,
May you exist, so I may have you in my life.

Let there be me.
May I exist, so you may have me in your life.

Let there be oysters Under the sea.
May there be wonderful, luxurious things in the world for us to enjoy.

Let there be wind, An occassional rain. Chile con carne, Sparkling champagne --
May there be variety and contrast in our experiences, from the mundane to the extravagant.

Let there be birds To sing in the trees, Someone to bless me Whenever I sneeze.
May there be nature and company to bring us comfort and joy.

Let there be cuckoos, A lark and a dove, But first of all, please -- Let there be love.
Even with everything else in the world, the most important thing is to have love in our lives.

~interlude~
Instrumental break in the song.

Let there be cuckoos, A lark and a dove, But first of all, please -- Let there be love...
Reiteration of the importance of love.

Hmmm umm...love
A brief, contemplative expression of the feeling of love.

Hmmm umm...love
Continuation of the same contemplative expression of love.

Let there be love.
Final declaration of the importance of love in our lives.

Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: JAMES GRANT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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