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.
Melancholy March
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your winds are blowing across the sky
Melancholy March, your clouds are crying
Your trees are sighing as though they'll die
I know you're late for winter's tale
Too early for any spring
So we stand hand in hand
Melancholy March without a season
You have no reason or rhyme to be
Melancholy March, meet melancholy me
Melancholy March, meet melancholy me
The lyrics to Julie London's song "Melancholy March" depict the somber and melancholic atmosphere of the month of March. The song personifies March as a character, describing it as gloomy with its winds blowing across the sky, clouds crying, and trees sighing as though they will die. March is portrayed as a transitional month, caught between winter and spring, symbolizing the struggle between two seasons.
The singer acknowledges that March is too late for winter's tale and too early for spring, leaving them in a state of anticipation, hand in hand, waiting for anything to happen. The song captures the feeling of being stuck in a liminal space, longing for change but unable to transition fully into a new season.
The final lines of the song reveal the connection between March and the singer, both characterized by melancholy. March is described as lacking a specific reason or rhyme to exist in this state, and the singer identifies themselves as "melancholy me," suggesting a shared sense of sadness and emotional resonance between the two.
Overall, "Melancholy March" explores the bittersweet nature of transition and captures the longing and melancholy that can accompany change.
Line by Line Meaning
Melancholy March, your gloom is showing
The sadness and heaviness of March's atmosphere are evident.
Your winds are blowing across the sky
The wind is moving forcefully through the air, signaling March's presence.
Melancholy March, your clouds are crying
The clouds in March appear to be shedding tears, emphasizing its melancholic nature.
Your trees are sighing as though they'll die
The trees, burdened by March's sadness, seem to express their own impending demise.
I know you're late for winter's tale
March arrives after winter, but it still carries remnants of its cold and desolate nature.
Too early for any spring
It is too soon for the season of rebirth and rejuvenation to begin.
So we stand hand in hand
In the face of March's melancholy, we remain united and supportive.
Waiting for anything
We anxiously await any change or improvement to lift the gloom of March.
Melancholy March without a season
March seems to lack a clear identity or purpose in terms of seasons.
You have no reason or rhyme to be
March's existence appears arbitrary and devoid of purpose or structure.
Melancholy March, meet melancholy me
March's somber disposition resonates with my own feelings of sadness and melancholy.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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