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.
Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night In The Week
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause that's the night that my sweetie and I
Used to dance cheek to cheek
I don't mind Sunday night at all
Cause that's the night friends come to call
And Monday to Friday go fast
And another week is past
I sing the song that I sang for the memories I usually seek
Until I hear you at the door
Until you're in my arms once more
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
Mm Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
I sing the song that I sang for the memories I usually seek
Until I hear you at the door
Until you're in my arms once more
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
Until I hear you at the door
Until you're in my arms once more
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
The song Saturday Night by Julie London is a poignant ballad that speaks to the loneliness and longing that can be felt when a loved one is no longer present. The lyrics convey the singer's sense of loss and sadness that are particularly amplified on a Saturday night. This is because it used to be the night when she would dance "cheek to cheek" with her sweetie, but now that person is gone, leaving her to sing the song of their love alone.
The singer does not find Sunday night to be as lonely as Saturday night, as that is when friends come to call. Similarly, Monday to Friday passes quickly, and another week is gone too soon. But, Saturday night is different - it is always the loneliest night of the week.
The repeated refrain of "until I hear you at the door, until you’re in my arms once more" underscores the singer's deep yearning for her lost love. The song is nostalgic in nature, with the singer singing about memories that she usually seeks. Yet, it is also a song of hope, as it holds the promise of a reunion with the lost love.
In conclusion, Saturday Night is a melancholic ballad that speaks to the feelings of loss and longing following the departure of a loved one. The central message of the song is the pain and loneliness that arises from the absence of the person who once lit up the singer's life on a Saturday night.
Line by Line Meaning
Saturday night is the loneliest night in the week
Out of all the nights in the week, Saturday night is the one that feels the most lonely and isolating.
Cause that's the night that my sweetie and I used to dance cheek to cheek
Saturday night used to be special because it was the night when I would dance closely with my loved one.
I don't mind Sunday night at all
Sunday night doesn't bother me in the slightest.
Cause that's the night friends come to call
Friends usually come over on Sunday night, which makes it a good night for me.
And Monday to Friday go fast
The weekdays from Monday to Friday pass by quickly and easily.
And another week is past
Before I know it, another week has come and gone.
I sing the song that I sang for the memories I usually seek
I find myself singing the same song on Saturday night, usually because I am reminiscing about past memories.
Until I hear you at the door
My loneliness on Saturday night is relieved once I hear you knocking on the door.
Until you're in my arms once more
My loneliness completely fades away when I hold you in my arms again.
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind