Louie Louie

Louie Louie is the performing name of Louis Edmond Cordero, a Puerto Rican and American musician and producer born in the United States in 1962 and associated with Southern California and later Las Vegas. He grows up in California in a large family with three brothers and two sisters, and his childhood includes frequent moves around the state, with a new school almost every year.

Early life and performance work

As a teenager, he starts entering dance contests at colleges and wins them. After high school, he works in the car business by day, following his father, while continuing dance contests at clubs across Southern California at night. He eventually leaves car sales to concentrate on dancing and acting full-time.

An audition for a breakdancing film in 1984 leads to his being noticed for Madonna’s “Borderline” video, after which he meets Madonna and appears in the project. He also plays Rick in House Party 2.

Recording career

Louie Louie releases his first album, The State I’m In, in 1990 on WTG Records. The album reaches No. 136 on the Billboard Top 200. Its first single, “Sittin’ in the Lap of Luxury”, features trumpet by Dizzie Gillespie and reaches No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “I Wanna Get Back with You” also charts there, reaching No. 69. He tours the United States and Canada with Erasure in support of the album.

His second album, Let’s Get Started, follows in 1993 on Warner Bros. Records. For this record he works with Prince on “Get Blue” and “Dance Unto the Rhythm”, and with George Michael on the single “Brother Louie”. The single “The Thought of It” reaches No. 34 in the UK.

He later signs to Trauma Records and Interscope Records for the album Louie Cordero, released under his name in 1996. It is produced with Dennis Lambert, with half the songs recorded in Spanish and half in English. That album does not chart, and neither do “Don’t Say You Love Me” or “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)” from the same period. In 2002 he issues the independent album Dance Love Work, including the single “Mad Love”.

His earlier single “The Girl Who Seduced the World” appears in 1987 on Synthicide Records and Enigma Records.

Las Vegas residency and recognition

Louie Louie later appears in Las Vegas as the house band for Sunset Station. The Las Vegas Hilton then gives him his own showroom and the freedom to perform with his act. In 1998, Nevada governor Bob Miller declares July “Louie Louie Month” in his honour, and on 21 August 2002 he receives the key to the city from Mayor Oscar Goodman.

Style

He describes his music as a blend of percussion, drums, energy and passion shaped by his Puerto Rican background, and he identifies it as a form of brown-eyed soul. He says his motto is “dance, love and work”.