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.
Take Back Your Mink
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What made you think
That I was one of those girls?
Take back the gown the gloves and the hat
I may be down but I'm not flat as all that
I thought that each expensive
Gift you'd arranged
Was a token of your esteemNow when I think of what you want in exchange
It all seems a horrible dream
Take back your mink those old worn out pelts
And go shorten the sleeves for somebody else
(interlude)
I thought that each expensive
Gift you'd arranged
Was a token of your esteem
Now when I think of what you want in exchange
It all seems a horrible dream
So take back your mink
To from whence it came
And tell them to alter and rise it
For some other dame
In Julie London's song "Take Back Your Mink," the singer is addressing a former lover who had lavished expensive gifts upon her. The lyrics suggest that the woman was initially flattered by these gifts, viewing them as tokens of the man's affection and esteem. However, as she reflects on their relationship, she realizes that the man's gifts were not genuine expressions of love but rather transactions meant to solicit something in return.
The phrase "Take back your mink take back your pearls" symbolizes the physical gifts the man had given her, such as a mink coat and pearl jewelry. By asking him to take them back, the singer is rejecting the materialistic nature of their relationship and rejecting the man's shallow intentions. She expresses her disillusionment with the man's expectations, stating, "What made you think that I was one of those girls?" This line suggests that the singer refuses to be objectified or treated as a commodity.
The singer acknowledges her current state of vulnerability, saying, "I may be down, but I'm not flat as all that." She asserts that despite her difficult circumstances, she still values her own worth and will not allow herself to be used. The final lines of the song continue this sentiment, as the singer urges the man to take his gifts elsewhere and find another woman to manipulate. She asserts her independence and self-respect, refusing to let the man's materialistic demands dictate her worth.
Overall, "Take Back Your Mink" serves as a powerful anthem of self-empowerment and standing up against objectification in relationships. It sheds light on the deceptive nature of superficial gifts and celebrates the singer's refusal to be controlled by materialistic desires.
Line by Line Meaning
Take back your mink take back your pearls
Return the fur coat and valuable jewelry you gave me
What made you think That I was one of those girls?
Why did you assume I would be easily swayed by material possessions?
Take back the gown the gloves and the hat
Retrieve the elegant dress, gloves, and hat you bestowed upon me
I may be down but I'm not flat as all that
I may be going through a tough time, but I still have my dignity and self-worth
I thought that each expensive Gift you'd arranged Was a token of your esteem
I believed that each lavish present you gave me was a sign of your admiration
Now when I think of what you want in exchange It all seems a horrible dream
Now that I realize what you expect from me in return, it feels like a terrible nightmare
Take back your mink those old worn out pelts
Take back the worn-out fur coat that no longer holds any value
And go shorten the sleeves for somebody else
Have the sleeves altered to fit someone else, as they no longer belong to me
So take back your mink To from whence it came
Return the fur coat to its original source
And tell them to alter and rise it For some other dame
Instruct them to modify and enhance it for another woman
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Frank Loesser
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind