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 Do Something To Me
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Something that simply mystifies me
Tell me, why should it be
You have the power to hypnotize me
Let me live 'neath your spell
You do that voodoo that you do so well
That nobody else could do.
Let me live 'neath your spell
You do that voodoo that you do so well
For you do something to me
That nobody else could do
That nobody else could do
The lyrics of Julie London's song "You Do Something To Me" describe the inexplicable power that someone has over another person. The singer is mystified by the hold that her lover has over her and questions why it is that this person has the power to hypnotize her. She is bewitched by their charms and begs to be entranced by their spell, suggesting that they have a certain mystical power over her, a power that nobody else possesses or could possibly understand.
The use of the phrase "do that voodoo that you do so well" adds an element of magic to the lyrics, further emphasizing the idea that the spell cast by this person is supernatural in nature. The song is essentially a love letter to the person who holds this power over the singer, expressing a desire to be under their spell forever. The lyrics suggest that this kind of love is not rational, but rather an inexplicable force that cannot be explained by reason or logic.
Overall, the song conveys a sense of vulnerability and surrender to this unexplainable force, which leaves the singer powerless in the face of their lover's charms. Ultimately, it is the emotional impact of the song that resonates with listeners, capturing the essence of a love that is both mysterious and powerful at the same time.
Line by Line Meaning
You do something to me
There is something you do to me that I cannot explain
Something that simply mystifies me
It is a mystery to me what exactly it is that you do
Tell me, why should it be
I cannot comprehend why I am affected by you so much
You have the power to hypnotize me
Your influence over me is overwhelming and powerful
Let me live 'neath your spell
I am entranced by you and want to be under your influence
You do that voodoo that you do so well
You have a mysterious and powerful effect on me that I cannot resist
For you do something to me
I am in awe of your power over me
That nobody else could do
There is no one else in the world who could affect me in the way that you do
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind