Born Gayle Peck in 1926, Julie London was a hugely successful film actress having a starring breakthrough in 1947 in The Red House. Eight years later she was encouraged to pursue something of a singing career in tandem and debuted as a live performer at the 881 Club in Los Angeles. Her performance excited many of the audience, including executives of Liberty Records, who offered her a contract. Julie herself was unsure whether she was doing the right thing, claiming of her voice ‘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.’ It helped that her first outing, Cry Me A River was a smash, making the Top Ten in the US and later a hit in the UK. That paved the way for a follow up album, and Julie would eventually record some 32 albums during her career. Her debut, Julie Is Her Name, made #2 in the US during 1956, containing as it did her big smash hit single, and her follow up Lonely Girl peaked at #16.
