Go Slow The Life of Julie London

It has been said that the records of singer and actress Julie London were purchased for their provocative, full-color cover photographs as frequently as they were for the music contained in their grooves. During the 1950s and ’60s, her piercing blue eyes, strawberry blonde hair, and shapely figure were used to sell the world an image of cool sexuality.

The contrast between image and reality, the public and the private, is at the heart of Julie London’s story. Through years of research; extensive interviews with family, friends, and musical associates; and access to rarely seen or heard archival material, author Michael Owen reveals the impact of her image on the direction of her career and how it influenced the choices she made, including the ultimate decision to walk away from performing.

Go Slow follows Julie London’s life and career through its many stages: her transformation from 1940s movie starlet to coolly defiant singer of the classic torch ballad “Cry Me a River” of the ’50s, and her journey from Las Vegas hotel entertainer during the rock ’n’ roll revolution of the ’60s to the no-nonsense nurse of the ’70s hit television series Emergency!

Michael Owen is a writer, archivist, and researcher. A historian of popular music and culture, he is the consulting archivist to the estate of the songwriter Ira Gershwin, for which he is currently completing a scholarly, annotated book of Ira Gershwin’s 1928 travel journal as part of the Gershwin Critical Edition project. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and their cat.