| Louise Cordet | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Louise Boisot |
| Born | 8 February 1945 Wraysbury, Berkshire, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer, actress, publicist |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1962–1965 |
| Labels | Decca |
Louise Cordet (born Louise Boisot,[1] 8 February 1945, England)[2] was an English pop singer who also sang in French, best known as a one-hit wonder for her 1962 single, "I'm Just a Baby".[3]
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Louise Cordet is the daughter of Captain[4] Marcel Boisot of the Free French Air Force, and the French-born Greek actress Helene Cordet.
In 1940, as a trainee cadet pilot with no more than twenty hours flying time, her father flew a Morane 315 training aircraft without navigation equipment or maps from Meknès in Morocco to Gibraltar in response to Charles de Gaulle's Appeal of June 18.[5][6]
Her mother's parents helped Prince Andrew and Princess Alice of Greece after their exile in 1922, resulting in a lasting friendship between the two families.[7][8][9]
Cordet is the goddaughter of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,[10][11] and was educated, firstly at the French Lycée in Kensington, London, and then a convent school.[3]
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.[2]
After signing to Decca Records, she released "I'm Just a Baby" in 1962, which hit No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was composed by Jerry Lordan and produced by former Shadows drummer Tony Meehan.[1][3]
She appeared in the films Just for You and Just for Fun in 1963.[11]
Cordet undertook tours with The Beatles and Gerry and the Pacemakers. Gerry Marsden is said to initially have written the song "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying" for Cordet,[3] though 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"). Her final single was a cover version of a Motown tune called "Two Lovers".[3] "Two Lovers", originally composed by Smokey Robinson, featured Jimmy Page on guitar on Cordet's version. She also toured in 1963 with Paul & Paula, Tony Meehan and Jet Harris, with concert promotor Arthur Howes.[12] But she had stopped recording by 1965.
She served as French pronunciation advisor at Marianne Faithfull's 11 May 1965 Decca Records recording session.[3]
She is married to a Greek national and has three children: the eldest son is the singer, Alexi Murdoch. She now lives in Greece with a home also in London. She has a brother Max Boisot, who is a Professor of Economics.
Interests in Louise Cordet's recording material has always been high and in early 2011 two CDs were released, one entitled 'Louise Cordet - I'm Just A Baby' and also 'The Sweet Beat of Louise Cordet', which contains all of her Decca recordings, in both English and French, totalling twenty-four tracks.