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.
They can
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Though by tomorrow you're gone;
The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote,
The melody lingers on.
They may take you from me, I'll miss your fond caress.
But though they take you from me, I'll still possess.
The way you wear your hat
The memory of all that
No, no, they can't take that away from me
The way your smile just beams
The way you sing off key
The way you haunt my dreams
No, no, they can't take that away from me
We may never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of
The way you hold your knife
The way we danced till three
The way you changed my life
No, no, they can't take that away from me
No, they can't take that away from me
W e may never, never meet again
On the bumpy road to love
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of
The way you hold your knife
The way we danced till three
The way you changed my life
No, no, they can't take that away from me
No, they can't take that away from me
Can't take that away
Can't take that away from me
Julie London's song "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is a beautiful, sentimental tune about the power of memory and the indelible mark that love can leave on a person's heart. At its core, the song is about the singer's belief that even if the person she loves is taken away from her, she will always have the memories of the moments they shared together, and no one can ever take those away from her.
The opening verse sets the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer declares that their romance will end on a positive, uplifting note, even if her love is leaving her. The melody of the song may be over, but the memories will linger on forever, echoing in her heart and mind. The second verse expands on this theme by listing the various ways that her love has made an impact on her life, from the way he wears his hat to the sound of his singing voice. Even if they never meet again, she will always hold onto these cherished memories.
The final verse of the song brings everything full circle, with the singer declaring that even if her love is taken from her, she will still hold onto the memories of the way they danced, the way he changed her life, and the way he held his knife. These moments are a part of her forever, and no one can ever take that away from her.
Overall, "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is a beautiful, timeless song that celebrates the power of memory, love, and the human heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Our romance won't end on a sorrowful note,
Although you may be leaving tomorrow, our love will not end unhappily.
Though by tomorrow you're gone;
Even though you will be gone by tomorrow,
The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote,
Although the song has ended, as the songwriter wrote,
The melody lingers on.
The music will continue to be present.
They may take you from me, I'll miss your fond caress.
Even though they may separate us and I will miss your loving touch.
But though they take you from me, I'll still possess.
I will still hold on to the wonderful things that we have shared.
The way you wear your hat
The unique way in which you wear your hat
The way your sip your tea
The graceful and unique way in which you sip your tea
The memory of all that
All of these wonderful memories
No, no, they can't take that away from me
Our shared memories and experiences cannot be taken from me.
The way your smile just beams
The way your smile shines and radiates happiness
The way you sing off key
Even the way in which you sing slightly out of tune
The way you haunt my dreams
The way in which you continue to exist within my dreams
We may never, never meet again
There's a chance that we will never see each other again
On the bumpy road to love
During the difficult journey towards love
Still, I'll always, always keep the memory of
Even so, I will always hold on to and cherish
The way you hold your knife
The peculiar manner in which you hold your knife
The way we danced till three
Our moments of dancing together, late into the night
The way you changed my life
The effect that you've had on my life and my way of living
No, no, they can't take that away from me
These fond, meaningful memories cannot be taken from me.
No, they can't take that away from me
These ingrained memories and experiences cannot be removed from me.
Can't take that away
These memories and experiences cannot be removed or erased.
Can't take that away from me
I will always hold on to and remember these memories and experiences.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., SONGS MUSIC PUBLISHING
Written by: IRA GERSHWIN, GEORGE GERSHWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Beehive Farms
Wow...such voice control. What a gift and Don Bagley on bass on so many recordings. They cant take that away from me. RIP Julie and Don.
Miss Dee
Perfect delivery and BTW she is KILLING it in that beautiful blue dress on that album cover. Go girl!
Arthur Markos
God she was gorgeous
Joe hallen
ELOQUENT, THE END IS HAUNTING. PERFECTION. WE LOVE YOU JULIE LONDON MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW. RIP DEAR JULIE
Ricardo Vargas
Beauty lady, beauty song and beautiful performance.
DJ Mandrew
Grab the fire extinguisher, cuz this girl's SMOKIN'!
Julie London could make the Star Spangled Banner sound sexy.
Dustin Deissner
I agree and think it a beautiful compliment donrjr
.