Louise Cordet (born Louise Boisot, 8 February 1945, England) is an English pop singer who also sang in French, best known as a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

for her 1962 single, "I'm Just a Baby".

Early life

Louise Cordet is the daughter of Captain Marcel Boisot of the

Free French Air Force The Free French Air Forces (french: Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres, FAFL) were the air arm of the Free French Forces in the Second World War, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940. The designation ceased to exist in 1943 when the Free Frenc ...

and the French-born Greek actress Hélène Cordet. In 1940, as a trainee cadet pilot with no more than 20 hours' flying time, her father flew a Morane 315 training aircraft without navigation equipment or maps from

Meknès Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th ...

in Morocco to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in response to

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

appeal of 18 June The Appeal of 18 June (french: L'Appel du 18 juin) was the first speech made by Charles de Gaulle after his arrival in London in 1940 following the Battle of France. Broadcast to Vichy France by the radio services of the British Broadcasting Cor ...

. Her mother's parents helped

Prince Andrew Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger brother of King Charles III and the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince ...

and Princess Alice of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

after their exile in 1922, resulting in a lasting friendship between the two families. Cordet is a

goddaughter In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

, and was educated first at the French Lycée in Kensington, London, and then at a convent school.

Music career

When she began singing she took her stage name from her mother, Hélène Cordet, who had adopted the surname early in her own professional career, as an actress and TV hostess. After signing to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, she released "I'm Just a Baby" in 1962, which hit No. 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was composed by

Jerry Lordan Jerry Lordan (born Jeremiah Patrick Lordan, 30 April 1934 – 24 July 1995) was an English songwriter, composer and singer. He achieved 3 hit singles on the UK Singles Chart before focusing purely on songwriting. Amongst his songwriting c ...

and produced by the former

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

drummer

Tony Meehan Daniel Joseph Anthony Meehan (2 March 1943 – 28 November 2005), professionally known as Tony Meehan, was a founder member of the British group the Drifters, with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, which would evolve into the Shadows. ...

. She also appeared in the films '' Just For Fun'' (1963) and '' Just for You'' (1964). Cordet undertook

tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

and

Gerry and the Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongsid ...

Gerry Marsden Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow ba ...

is said to have initially written the song "

Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" is a song written by Gerry Marsden, Freddie Marsden, Les Chadwick and Les Maguire, the members of British beat group Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was first recorded and issued as a single by Louise Cordet in ...

" for Cordet, although the Gerry and the Pacemakers recording was released almost simultaneously, in April 1964. She recorded a four-track EP for French Decca – three tracks in French (including a French-language version of the English song, "Around and Around", plus her version of the Beatles' song "

From Me to You "From Me to You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in April 1963 as their third single. It was written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. The song was the Beatles' first number 1 hit on what became the official ...

"). Her final single was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

tune " Two Lovers". Composed by

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

, "Two Lovers" featured

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...

on guitar on Cordet's version. She also toured in 1963 with

Paul & Paula Paul & Paula (Ray Hildebrand, born December 21, 1940, and Jill Jackson, born May 20, 1942) are a former American pop music, pop singing duet, duo, best known for their 1963 million-selling, number-one hit record, "Hey Paula (song), Hey Paula". Bio ...

and

Jet Harris Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an Italian airline * Journey to Enceladus a ...

, with the concert promoter Arthur Howes, but by 1965 she had stopped recording. She served as the French

pronunciation Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation") or simply the way a particular ...

adviser at

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

's 11 May 1965, Decca Records recording session.

Personal life

She is married to a Greek national and has three children. Her eldest son is the singer

Alexi Murdoch Alexi Murdoch (born 27 December 1973) is a British folk musician and songwriter.Elms, Robert (22 April 2011), "BBC London 94.9". Since his debut in 2002, Murdoch has released two LPs and one EP. His music has been featured in numerous televisio ...

. She now lives in

, but also has a home in London. Her late brother,

Max Boisot Max Henri Boisot (11 November 1943 – 7 September 2011) was a British architect and management consultant who was professor of Strategic Management at the ESADE business school in Barcelona. known for his ideas about the information economy, the ...

, was an architect, and professor of strategic management at the

ESADE Esade (Escola Superior d'Administració i Direcció d'Empreses) is a prestigious international private educational institution based in Barcelona, Spain. Esade runs two schools of the university, Esade Business School and Esade Law School, as well ...

business school in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Discography

Singles

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

F11476 (1962): "I'm Just a Baby" / "In a Matter of Moments" UK No. 13 *Decca F11524 (1962): "Sweet Enough" / "Someone Else's Fool" *Decca F11673 (1963): "

Around and Around "Around and Around" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It originally appeared under the name "Around & Around" as the B-side to the single " Johnny B. Goode". Cover versions The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones ...

" / "Which Way the Wind Blows" *Decca F11824 (1964): "

" / "Loving Baby" *Decca F11875 (1964): " Don't Make Me Over" / " Two Lovers" *Decca (France) EP 454.089 (1962): "I'm Just a Baby", "In a Matter of Moments", "Sweet Enough", "Someone Else's Fool" *Decca EP DFE 8515 (1962) and 454.096 (1963, France): ''The Sweet Beat of Louise Cordet'': "She's Got You", "We Know Why", "Everytime", "Crazy Kind of Love" *Decca (France) EP 454.100 (1963): ''Louise Cordet'': "Faire le Grand Voyage", "Que m'a-t-il-Fait?", "From Me To You", "L'amour Tourne en Rond" *Decca (France) EP 457.022 (1964): "Pour Toi", "Laisse le Soleil Sécher tes Larmes", "J'Aime Trop Johnny", "Dix Mille Fois"

Compilation albums

*Harkit HRKCD 8358 (2010): ''I'm Just a Baby'' *

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

Retro 890 (2011): ''The Sweet Beat of Louise Cordet: Complete UK Decca Recordings''

References

External links

Interview with Harkit Records, March 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordet, Louise 1945 births Living people English people of French descent English film actresses Cordet, Louise