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.
Say It Isn
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everyone is saying you don't love me --
Say it isn't so.
Ev'rywhere I go, ev'ryone I see,
They say you're growing tired of me --
People say that you, found somebody new,
And it won't be long before you leave me --
Just say that ev'rything is still o - kay,
That's all I want to know;
And what they're saying, say it is - n't so.
The lyrics of Julie London's song "Say It Isn't So" speaks about the fear and uncertainty of losing someone you love. The lyrics are the plea of a lover, begging the subject not to confirm the rumors swirling around them that they are falling out of love. The narrative appears to be a monologue of a heartbroken lover, almost at the brink of tears, in a situation where they have to decide whether to believe the rumors or wait for the confirmation.
The song conveys a subtle message anchored on the power of words, driven by fear and a desire to cling to hope. This person wants to hold onto any glimmer of hope that their love is still intact. The lyrics emphasize the significance of communication in a relationship, with the person praying for the words to hear, to preserve the relationship.
In summary, the song is a powerful emotional plea from a hopeless romantic hoping that rumors of lost love are untrue. Julie London delivered the song's emotions effortlessly, showcasing her emotional range and vocal ability.
Line by Line Meaning
Say it isn't so, say it isn't so,
Please tell me it's not true that you don't love me.
Everyone is saying you don't love me --
People are telling me that you're no longer interested in me.
Say it isn't so.
Reassure me that these rumors are untrue.
Ev'rywhere I go, ev'ryone I see,
No matter where I go or who I speak to,
They say you're growing tired of me --
People are speculating that you're getting bored of our relationship.
People say that you found somebody new,
Rumors are spreading that you've found another person to be with.
And it won't be long before you leave me --
People are convinced that you're going to end our relationship soon.
Say it isn't true,
Tell me that this isn't really happening.
Just say that ev'rything is still o - kay,
Please confirm that everything between us is still fine.
That's all I want to know;
All I need to hear is that our relationship is still intact.
And what they're saying, say it is - n't so.
Please deny what everybody is saying about us.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind