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.
Love Is Here To Stay
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not for a year but ever and a day
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
May just be passing fancies and in time may go
But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Together we're going a long, long way
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
But our love is here to stay
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
They're only made of clay
But our love is here to stay
The lyrics to Julie London's song "Love Is Here to Stay" speak of the endurance of true love over time. The opening lines are a declaration of love that is meant to last beyond a mere year - it is meant to endure forever. The lyrics continue to muse about the transience of technology and the entertainment industry ("the radio and the telephone and the movies that we know") which may come and go, but the love that the singer shares with her significant other is timelessly solid.
The lyrics then expand on this theme of permanence versus impermanence, stating that while the Rockies and even Gibraltar may crumble and fall, they are still only made of clay. This can be interpreted as a nod to the idea of physical things and structures being ultimately transient while love remains steadfast. The final repetition of the line "our love is here to stay" emphasizes the central motif of the song and reinforces the idea that true love is eternal.
Overall, "Love Is Here to Stay" is an ode to lasting love that transcends time and physical boundaries. The song's lyrics emphasize the idea that while the world and all that is in it may change and eventually perish, true love will remain constant and endure forever.
Line by Line Meaning
It's very clear, our love is here to stay
Our love is certain and enduring
Not for a year but ever and a day
Our love will last forever
The radio and the telephone and the movies that we know
The popular media of our time may come and go
May just be passing fancies and in time may go
These passing trends will eventually fade away
But oh, my dear, our love is here to stay
Our love is unshakeable and enduring
Together we're going a long, long way
We will journey together through life
In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble
Even the mightiest natural structures may fall eventually
They're only made of clay
Nothing in this world is permanent
But our love is here to stay
Our love is the one constant in a changing world
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Peermusic Publishing, RALEIGH MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sandy Roberts
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