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.
Lush Life
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those come what may places
Where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life
To get the feel of life...
From jazz and cocktails.
The girls I knew had sad and sullen gray faces
With distant gay traces
By too many through the day...
Twelve oclock tales.
Then you came along with your siren of song
To tempt me to madness!
I thought for a while that your poignant smile was tinged with the sadness
Of a great love for me.
Ah yes! I was wrong...
Again,
I was wrong.
Life is lonely again,
And only last year everything seemed so sure.
Now life is awful again,
A troughful of hearts could only be a bore.
A week in paris will ease the bite of it,
All I care is to smile in spite of it.
I'll forget you, I will
While yet you are still burning inside my brain.
Romance is mush,
Stifling those who strive.
I'll live a lush life in some small dive...
And there Ill be, while I rot
With the rest of those whose lives are lonely, too..
Julie London's song Lush Life is a poignant expression of the highs and lows of life from the perspective of someone who has experienced both the gayeties and loneliness of life. The first verse reminisces about the singer's past where they frequented "the very gay places" with lively music and cocktails to "get the feel of life". However, they also knew people with "sullen gray faces" who were jaded by the daily grind of life. The second verse is a lament for a lost love as the singer realizes that the love that once felt certain is no longer there. They express their desire to forget the love, but it still burns inside their brain. The singer then resigns themselves to live a "lush life" in some small dive and suffer with the other lonely souls.
The lyrics are a beautiful expression of the realities of life that everyone experiences at some point. The upbeat vibe of the song juxtaposed with the lyrics creates a sense of melancholy and longing. The lyrics capture the essence of what it means to live a "lush life" and the cost that comes with it. The lyrics also talk about the futility of love and how it is ephemeral and can be lost in a blink of an eye.
Line by Line Meaning
I used to visit all the very gay places
I used to go to all the lively places
Those come what may places
No matter what, people went there
Where one relaxes on the axis of the wheel of life
A place where one can catch a break while encountering different aspects of life
To get the feel of life...
To experience life
From jazz and cocktails.
Through listening to jazz and drinking cocktails
The girls I knew had sad and sullen gray faces
The girls I knew looked dull and unhappy
With distant gay traces
Although they looked distant, you could see they were once happy
That used to be there you could see where theyd been washed away
You could see that the traces have been erased by time and events
By too many through the day...
By too many events throughout the day that tire them out
Twelve o'clock tales.
Stories that people tell themselves at midnight
Then you came along with your siren of song
Then you came along singing a tempting siren song
To tempt me to madness!
To drive me crazy with desire
I thought for a while that your poignant smile was tinged with the sadness
I thought for a moment that your expressive smile conveyed sorrow
Of a great love for me.
Of your great love for me
Ah yes! I was wrong...
I was mistaken
Again,
Once more
I was wrong.
I was incorrect
Life is lonely again,
I feel lonely again
And only last year everything seemed so sure.
Only last year everything was definite
Now life is awful again,
Now life is dreadful again
A troughful of hearts could only be a bore.
Too many broken hearts can only be dull
A week in paris will ease the bite of it,
A week in Paris will help me forget
All I care is to smile in spite of it.
All I want to do is smile despite the pain
I'll forget you, I will
I will try to forget you
While yet you are still burning inside my brain.
While I still have strong memories of you
Romance is mush,
Romantic love is messy
Stifling those who strive.
Holding back those who want to succeed
I'll live a lush life in some small dive...
I'll live a luxurious lifestyle in a lowly place
And there Ill be, while I rot
And there I will be, while I slowly deteriorate
With the rest of those whose lives are lonely, too..
With other people who also have lonely lives
Lyrics © K SMITH MUSIC CO., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Billy Strayhorn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Watkinson
I bought this album when it was first available and still listen to it often. Julie was never given the recognition she deserved.
Ralph Dratman
Performed without the verse. As a result this is easier to follow.
Dwayne McDowell
Overview
Lyrics
Listen
Other recordings
People also search for
Main results
I used to visit all the very gay places,
Those come-what-may places,
Where one relaxes on the axis,
Of the wheel of life,
To get the feel of life,
From jazz and cocktails.
The gals (girls) I knew had sad and sullen gray faces,
With distingué traces,
That used to be there.
You could see where,
They'd been washed away,
By too many through the day.
Twelve o'clock tales.
Then you came along,
With your siren song,
To tempt me to madness.
I thought for awhile,
That your poignant smile,
Was tinged with the sadness,
Of a great love for me.
I guess (Ah, yes, ) I was wrong.
Again, I was wrong.
Life is lonely again,
And only last year everything seemed so sure.
Now life is awful again.
A troughful of hearts could only be a bore.
A week in Paris might (will) ease the bite of it.
All I care is to smile in spite of it.
I'll forget you I will,
While yet you are still,
Burning inside my brain.
Romance is mush,
Stifling those who strive.
I'll live a lush life,
In some small dive.
And there I'll be,
While I rot with the rest,
Of those whose lives are lonely, too.
Lush life.