Spotlight on ....
JULIE LONDON
Even
though she had hits of her own, most notably 'Cry
Me a River', there are few female interpreters
of standard songs who can compare with the exquisite
Julie London.
She
was born Julie Peck in Santa Rosa, California
on September 26th 1926 to Jack and Josephine,
a song and dance team. When she was three the
family moved to San Bernardino where she had her
first taste of performing - on her parents' radio
show. Before she was twenty years old she was
making a name for herself singing in Los Angeles,
to where the family had moved in 1941. In 1944,
her beauty gained her a film contract, and after
a number of 'bit' parts she started playing leading
roles in films like "Task Force" and
"The Fat Man".
Julie married her first husband in 1947; he was
Jack Webb who later became the star of the highly
successful television cop series 'Dragnet'. They
divorced in 1953.
Her
biggest hit was the emotive song 'Cry Me A River'
which she sang in an amusing scene in the rock
and roll movie 'The Girl Can't Help It'. The song
had been suggested to her by her second husband,
the pianist / songwriter and actor Bobby Troup.
Julie married Troup on New Years' Eve 1959 and
they were together until his death in February
1999. It was a hit in the United States in 1955
and became a million seller (it hit the British
charts two years later). Troup had been instrumental
in getting Julie signed to the recently formed
Liberty record label and her big selling single
was also included on her debut album 'Julie Is
Her Name'. Her sultry and laid back renditions
of the featured romantic songs, backed only by
the guitar of jazzman Barney Kessel and Ray Leatherwood
on bass, proved extremely popular and it rose
to number two in the album charts in the US. The
album and single sold over three million copies
and resulted in Julie being voted one of the top
female singers in 1955, a feat that was repeated
in 1956 and 1957.
After her initial breakthrough she recorded prolifically
for over a decade with excellent albums such as
'Lonely Girl' in 1956, 'Calendar Girl' (which
featured songs with the names of the months in
them, for example 'September In The Rain' which
is included in this collection') later the same
year, and 'About The Blues', which she recorded
with the Russ Garcia Orchestra, continuing the
impetus. There were other exemplary albums to
follow like: 'Julie', 'Julie Is Her Name - Volume
Two', 'London By Night' and 'Your Number Please'.
Apart from the excellent music that graced all
her albums, the majority of the LP covers made
full use of Julie's extraordinary beauty; especially
'Calendar Girl' which had twelve stunning photographs
of the star - one for each month - plus a large
one on the inside of the foldout cover.
Such
was her workload that she managed to record almost
a dozen best selling albums in five years - as
well as keeping up her acting career. She received
rave reviews in movies such as 'A Question Of
Adultery' and 'The Great Man' in which she portrayed
an alcoholic singer. She even appeared in a western,
'Man Of The West' in 1968.
Her output didn't slacken as the sixties came.
Apart from numerous television series, more often
than not with husband Troup who was also her producer,
Julie still managed to record over a dozen high
quality albums in the first half of the decade.
Examples of which are: 'Love Letters' (the title
track of which is included in this collection),
'Sophisticated Lady', 'All Through The Night'
and the sublime 'Latin In a Satin Mood'. 'All
Through The Night' contains her "jazzy"
versions of Cole Porter songs and any one of them
could be included here.
Strangely enough, despite the sheer quality and
quantity of her work, none of her albums charted
on this side of the Atlantic and 'Cry Me A River'
was her only British singles chart entry. She
has, however, been popular through the decades
and compilations of her music will always have
an appreciative market. Her career even had a
revival of sorts after Mari Wilson covered 'Cry
Me A River' in the early eighties.
Julie’s
new album released by E.M.I. is due out in the
shops on Monday February 6th.
JULIE
LONDON
JULIE / LOVE ON THE ROCKS
Julie
Somebody Loves Me
Dream of You
Daddy
Bye Bye Blackbird
Free and Easy
All My Life
When The Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’
Along
Midnight Sun
You’re Getting To be A Habit With Me
Don’cha Go ‘Way Mad
(Back Home Again In) Indiana
For You
Love On the Rocks
Love On The Rocks
Guess Who I Saw Today
Where Are You
How Did He Look
What’s New
A Cottage For sale
The End Of A Love affair
I’ll Be Seeing You
Where Did The Gentleman Go
Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me
The Man That Got Away
Willow Weep For Me
