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.
i guess ill have to change my plans
Julie London Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I should have realized there'd be another man,
I overlooked that point completely,
Until the big affair began,
Before I knew where I was at,
I found myself upon the shelf, and that was that,
I tried to reach the moon but when I got there,
My feet are back upon the ground,
I've lost the one girl (man) I found,
I guess I'll have to change my plan,
I should have realized there'd be another man,
Why did I buy those blue pajamas,
Before the big affair began,
My boiling point is much to low
For me to try to be a fly lothario,
I think I'll crawl right back and into my shell,
Dwelling in my personal hell,
I'll have to change my plan around,
I've lost the one girl (man) I found.
Julie London's song "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" is a melancholy tale of a person who has lost their love to someone else. The singer of the song realizes that they had overlooked the possibility of their partner being with another person, and that they had been too confident in the relationship. They had believed that they could reach the "moon," but when they got there, all they could get was "air."
The song is full of regret and self-recrimination. The singer feels that they have made a mistake in not considering the possibility of someone else coming along, and now they have lost the one person they loved. They feel that they are not confident enough to be a "fly lothario," and that they would rather retreat back into their "shell" and dwell in their own "personal hell."
Line by Line Meaning
I guess I'll have to change my plan,
My initial plans have been thwarted, and I will have to reconsider my options.
I should have realized there'd be another man,
I failed to take into account the possibility of another romantic interest being involved.
I overlooked that point completely,
I completely missed or ignored that crucial detail.
Until the big affair began,
I was unaware of the significant relationship between the other parties involved.
Before I knew where I was at,
I found myself in a situation that I couldn't fully comprehend or control.
I found myself upon the shelf, and that was that,
I became irrelevant and was quickly dismissed or forgotten about.
I tried to reach the moon but when I got there,
I aimed too high and failed to achieve my goals.
All that I could get was the air,
My efforts resulted in nothingness or disappointment.
My feet are back upon the ground,
I've come back to reality after being in a state of confusion or disillusionment.
I've lost the one girl (man) I found,
The one significant relationship I had has ended or fallen apart.
Why did I buy those blue pajamas,
I made choices or decisions before fully understanding the situation at hand.
Before the big affair began,
Before I realized the gravity of the situation at hand.
My boiling point is much too low
I am not cut out for or capable of the level of emotional or romantic intensity that is required.
For me to try to be a fly lothario,
I lack the suave or charismatic qualities needed to be a successful ladies' man.
I think I'll crawl right back and into my shell,
I will retreat back into my comfort zone or revert to my old ways.
Dwelling in my personal hell,
I will be stuck in a state of misery or regret due to my poor decisions or mistakes.
I'll have to change my plan around,
I will have to reassess my goals or strategies to account for this unexpected turn of events.
I've lost the one girl (man) I found.
The one significant relationship I had has ended or fallen apart.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind