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.

Please Do It Again
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You really shouldn't have done it
You hadn't any right
I really shouldn't have let you
Kiss me.
And although it was wrong
I never was strong.
So as long as you've begun it
And you know you shouldn't have done it.

Oh.
Do it again.
I may say no. no. no. no. no.
But do it again.
My lips just ache
To have you take the kiss
That's waiting for you
You know if you do
You won't regret it
Come and get it.

Oh.
No one is near
I may cry oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.
But no one can hear.
Mamma may scold me
Coz' she told me
It was naughty but then

Please,
Do it again.
Yes do it again. And again and again and again and again and again
Turn out the light.
And hold me close
In your arms
All through the night.
I know tomorrow morning
You will say
Goodbye and Amen.

But until then
Please do it again.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Julie London's "Please Do It Again" tell a story of a reluctant lover who knows that what they are doing is wrong, but they cannot resist the temptation of their partner's kiss. The first verse sets the scene and establishes that the singer feels guilty and knows they should not have given in to their partner's advances. However, they cannot help but yearn for more.

The second verse reveals that the singer is alone with their lover, and although they are worried about the potential consequences, they cannot resist their desires. The phrase "Mamma may scold me" suggests that the singer is possibly young or inexperienced and could face judgement from their family if they were caught. Still, they cannot resist the urge to give in to their lover's kiss.

The chorus reinforces the singer's desire for their lover to kiss them again and again, even though they know it is wrong. The final lines of the chorus, "turn out the light, and hold me close in your arms all through the night," reiterate the singer's longing for physical affection, even if it is fleeting.

Overall, the song portrays the conflict between what is right and what our desires push us toward. The singer knows that what they are doing is wrong but cannot resist the intensity of their emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

You really shouldn't have done it
You acted wrongly

You hadn't any right
You didn't have the authority to do it

I really shouldn't have let you
I'm also responsible for my mistake

Kiss me.
You kissed me

And although it was wrong
Even though it was not right

I never was strong.
I couldn't stop myself

So as long as you've begun it
Since you've already started it

And you know you shouldn't have done it.
You're aware that it wasn't right

Oh.
An expression of feeling

Do it again.
Kiss me again

I may say no. no. no. no. no.
I might refuse, but...