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.

What's New
Julie London Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

What's new
How is the world treating you
You haven't changed a bit
Handsome as ever I must admit

What's new
How did that romance come through
We haven't met since then

Gee but it's nice to see you again

What's new
Probably I'm boring you
But seeing you is grand
And you were sweet to offer your hand
I understand

Adieu
Pardon my asking what's new
Of course you couldn't know
I haven't changed
I still love you so

Adieu
Pardon my asking what's new
Of course you couldn't know

I haven't changed
I still love you so

Overall Meaning

In the song "What's New" by Julie London, the singer is having a conversation with someone they haven't seen in a while. The singer starts by asking "What's new? How is the world treating you?" They then compliment the person they are talking to by saying "You haven't changed a bit. Handsome as ever I must admit." The next stanza is about the love life of the person they are talking to. The singer asks how their romance worked out and notes that they haven't met since then. They then express how nice it is to see the person again.

In the third stanza, the singer worries that they might be boring the person they are talking to. They mention that seeing the person is grand and thank them for offering their hand. The last two lines indicate that the singer understands that it is time to say goodbye. However, before leaving, the singer once again asks "Adieu. Pardon my asking what's new? Of course, you couldn't know. I haven't changed. I still love you so" indicating that they still have feelings for the person they are speaking to.

Line by Line Meaning

What's new
What updates do you have to share with me?

How is the world treating you
Have you been doing well?

You haven't changed a bit
You still look the same.

Handsome as ever I must admit
You still look attractive to me.

How did that romance come through
What happened with that love interest of yours?

We haven't met since then
We haven't seen each other since that time.

Gee but it's nice to see you again
It's great to see you once more.

Probably I'm boring you
I apologize if I'm being dull.

But seeing you is grand
It's wonderful to be in your presence.

And you were sweet to offer your hand
Thank you for being kind and offering your hand.

I understand
I comprehend and appreciate your gesture.