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 On the Rocks
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It mellows in flavor with each passing stage.
But even the best of the vinege (vine) goes bad.
And whether it's wine or love, that?s sad.
I won't answer love the next time it knocks.
I've had my fill of love on the rocks.
A jigger of lying, garnished with fights.Some bitters for crying, long unhappy nights.
A dash of lost dreams, then stir with regret.
Shake well, and pour, then drink and forget.
A tea spoon of teardrops seemed like a phase.
But I cried too many long unhappy days.
Good riddance to love it's too much to bear.
After this drink, I won't even care.
Love on the rocks, time to get high.
I'll drink to love, here's love in your eye
Pop with a bubble, make it a double!
This is my last toast to love
On the rocks
Love on the rocks.
In Julie London's song "Love On the Rocks," she uses the metaphor of wine to express her feelings about love. She suggests that love, like red wine, needs time to age and mature, as it mellows in flavor with each passing stage. However, even the best wine can go bad, and this is a sad thing. London then states that she has had enough of love and will not answer the next time it knocks. She has had her fill of love on the rocks, which is a clever play on words, as it means both love that is struggling and also love mixed with alcohol.
The following lyrics in the song continue to use alcohol as a metaphor for love. London suggests that love can be made like a cocktail. She goes onto describe the ingredients of this cocktail which includes a jigger of lying, garnished with fights, some bitters for crying, long unhappy nights, and a dash of lost dreams, then stir with regret. She compares the experience of love to drinking this cocktail and suggests that after one last drink, she won't even care about love anymore. Overall, the song seems to be a commentary on the ups and downs of love, how it can be both wonderful and terrible, and how it can ultimately lead to heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Love, like red wine, must have time to age.
Love should be given time to grow, just like red wine that matures with each passing day.
It mellows in flavor with each passing stage.
Love becomes better and sweeter as it goes through various stages and matures with time.
But even the best of the vine goes bad.
Even the most mature and well-aged love can come to an end eventually.
And whether it's wine or love, that?s sad.
It is heartbreaking whether it's the end of an amazing love or a great wine.
I won't answer love the next time it knocks.
The singer is not ready for another round of love after the one that has ended badly.
I've had my fill of love on the rocks.
The singer has had enough of sad and disappointing love.
A jigger of lying, garnished with fights.
The recipe for a bad love story: some dishonesty, trimmed with arguments.
Some bitters for crying, long unhappy nights.
Add some bitter tears to the concoction, to go along with endless sleepless nights.
A dash of lost dreams, then stir with regret.
The singer feels sad about the shattered dreams of a future that they had imagined and desired.
Shake well, and pour, then drink and forget.
Mix all the ingredients well, pour it out, drink it, and forget about it by moving on from the sour love story.
A tea spoon of teardrops seemed like a phase.
Initially, the singer thought that shedding a few tears will merely be a passing phase of their love story.
But I cried too many long unhappy days.
Eventually, the heartbreak was so severe, that the singer had to cry for an extensive period of time.
Good riddance to love, it's too much to bear.
The singer is done with love and is happy to get rid of it, feeling the burden of it is too high.
After this drink, I won't even care.
The singer will no longer care about love after drinking this heavy concoction.
Love on the rocks, time to get high.
The singer is ready to indulge in a heavy drink as they go through their heartbreak.
I'll drink to love, here's love in your eye.
The singer is focused on drowning their sorrows and toasting to love that has come to a heart-wrenching end.
Pop with a bubble, make it a double!
The singer wants a double serving of their alcoholic drink.
This is my last toast to love, on the rocks.
With the last sip of their drink, this is the last toast the singer is giving to love that has ended on a rocky road.
Love on the rocks.
The song's repeating lyrics are a persistent reminder that love can become cold and harsh like a rocks.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gilbert Francois Leopold Becaud, Neil Diamond
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind