Biography
Beginning in 1962, Louise Cordet emerged as a striking figure across the English pop and rock landscape for roughly two years once her single “I’m Just a Baby” climbed to number 13 on the charts through the English Decca imprint. The timing proved fortunate, coinciding with the arrival of a fresh generation of British rock & rollers, although her lighter, romance-oriented approach sat somewhat uneasily alongside the prevailing beat sound. Born to a prominent television personality and serving as god-daughter to Prince Philip, she had received a convent school education that set her apart from the working-class roots shared by most of her British rock & roll peers, yet she secured and retained a following that briefly positioned her as Decca Records’s counterpart to Helen Shapiro.
Two films brought her before cinema audiences in 1963, Just for You and Just for Fun; the latter, a sequel to the 1962 release It’s Trad, Dad, stood out for featuring Cordet’s performance of “Which Way the Wind Blows,” which numerous viewers considered the strongest musical segment in the picture and the high point of the entire production. Her trajectory in certain respects foreshadowed that of Marianne Faithfull, carrying her from convent schooling into the orbit of pop stars, London night spots, and tours alongside the Beatles and Gerry & the Pacemakers. Accounts suggest she even instructed Paul McCartney in a couple of dances shortly after his arrival in the capital, while Gerry Marsden first composed “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” expressly for Cordet before his own group recorded the song.
Her last single, “Two Lovers,” delivered a striking interpretation of a Motown standard, saturated with robust guitars and a driving rhythm that proved nearly as captivating as the Beatles’ version of “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.” Recording ceased by 1965, after which Cordet ironically joined the circle of associates around Marianne Faithfull, acting as French pronunciation advisor during Faithfull’s May 11, 1965 Decca Records session and promoting her interests vigorously in the press throughout that period.
Two films brought her before cinema audiences in 1963, Just for You and Just for Fun; the latter, a sequel to the 1962 release It’s Trad, Dad, stood out for featuring Cordet’s performance of “Which Way the Wind Blows,” which numerous viewers considered the strongest musical segment in the picture and the high point of the entire production. Her trajectory in certain respects foreshadowed that of Marianne Faithfull, carrying her from convent schooling into the orbit of pop stars, London night spots, and tours alongside the Beatles and Gerry & the Pacemakers. Accounts suggest she even instructed Paul McCartney in a couple of dances shortly after his arrival in the capital, while Gerry Marsden first composed “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” expressly for Cordet before his own group recorded the song.
Her last single, “Two Lovers,” delivered a striking interpretation of a Motown standard, saturated with robust guitars and a driving rhythm that proved nearly as captivating as the Beatles’ version of “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.” Recording ceased by 1965, after which Cordet ironically joined the circle of associates around Marianne Faithfull, acting as French pronunciation advisor during Faithfull’s May 11, 1965 Decca Records session and promoting her interests vigorously in the press throughout that period.
Albums