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.
You're My Thrill
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You do something to me
You send chills right through me
When I look at you 'cause you're my thrill
You're my thrill
How my pulse increases
I just go to pieces
Every time I look at you I can't keep still
Nothing seems to matter
Hm
Here's my heart on a silver platter
Oh where's my will
Why this strange desire
Flaming higher and higher
Every time I look at you
I can't keep still
You're my thrill
The song 'You're My Thrill' by Julie London is a beautiful, romantic ballad that speaks of the deep love and admiration one person has for another. The song begins with the singer talking about how the person they love makes them feel, saying that they send chills right through them. The singer is completely enamoured by this person and every time they look at them, they feel their pulse quicken and they go to pieces. The singer is completely taken by the person and seems unable to control their reactions to them. The singer expresses how nothing else seems to matter when they are with this person, and they feel as though they are putting their heart on a silver platter for this person, showing complete vulnerability. Finally, the song speaks of the strange desire the singer has for this person, saying that it only grows stronger and stronger every time they look at them.
The song itself is a beautiful masterpiece that has been covered by many artists over the years. It was first recorded in 1949 by the composer herself, Doris Fisher. Since then, it has been covered by artists such as Shirley Bassey, Billie Holiday and Chet Baker. Despite being written over 70 years ago, the song is still very popular today and is regularly played on radio stations around the world.
Line by Line Meaning
You're my thrill
You are what excites me the most
You do something to me
You have a certain impact on me
You send chills right through me
You give me a sense of pleasure that makes me shudder
When I look at you 'cause you're my thrill
Seeing you is what causes me great excitement
How my pulse increases
My heart starts to beat faster
I just go to pieces
I become scattered and unable to compose myself
Every time I look at you I can't keep still
I can't help but react physically to seeing you
Hm
A sound of contemplation
Nothing seems to matter
The only thing that matters is you
Hm
A sound of contemplation
Here's my heart on a silver platter
I am vulnerable and exposed to you
Oh where's my will
I am powerless to resist you
Why this strange desire
I don't understand why I am so drawn to you
Flaming higher and higher
My passion for you grows stronger and more intense
Every time I look at you
Just seeing you is enough to create this intense reaction within me
I can't keep still
I am compelled to respond to you physically
Lyrics © NEXT DECADE ENTERTAINMENT,INC., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jay Gorney, Sidney Clare
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind