Initial career (1960–1973)

Cordeiro's singing career began by singing at weddings as part of a band called 'Bajaj and his Dance Band'.^[4] She was recognized by musician, drummer, compère and actor Raymond Albuquerque, ^[6] who first heard her sing "Where The Boys Are" on Marvé Beach. He then invited her to sing "Under the Mango Tree" from Dr. No with his band at the Bandra fair. This performance impressed Chris Perry, who was in the audience and had been looking for a crooner.^[7] After an audition, she began singing for Perry's band at the age of 15 and continued with them until she turned 26. He thus helped her launch her career and she regards him as her guru. She was a popular jazz singer in nightclubs and star hotels in Mumbai, Calcutta, Madras, Delhi and Bangalore. Later, she sang songs composed / arranged by Chris Perry.^[8][9][10]

Cordeiro's first song was "Bebdo" (transl. "Drunkard"), which she performed on Miramar Beach, Goa, shocking the crowd with a song of this type in Konkani. She soon became well-known for her other songs, such as "Nachomia Kumpasar", "Pisso", "Red Rose", "Lisboa", "Adeus", "Tuzo Mog", "Noxibak Roddttam", "Abghat", "Calangute", "Aik Re Khobrankara", "Sorga Rajeant", "Pavsachea Tempar", "Amerikak Pavxi", "Sorg Tujea Dolleamni", "Tum Ani Hanv", "Ugddas" and "Mhoji Mai". She became so popular that the public started demanding just her solo performances from Perry, who bound her by contract to not perform with anyone else for twenty years. She subsequently left music for a period of 23 years after a disagreement with him when she was 26 years old.^[7]

Comeback and other projects (1995–present)

In 1995, music director Ronnie Monseratte, who had been a part of Perry's band, managed to convince her to sing again. After a year of hesitation, she agreed to perform in a concert titled 'Hello Lorna', which was directed by Monseratte. However, on the day of the first show at Miramar Beach, on 1 December 1995, Perry came to the venue and showed the media the contract that she had signed to not sing with anyone else and threatened legal proceedings. After hiring new musicians, the concert began with Cordeiro performing "Aikat Mazo Tavlo" (transl. "Listen to my voice").^[4] The concert's songs were released in a 1996 album of the same name.^[11]

In her illustrious career, Cordeiro has sung for many great Bollywood music directors such as Bappi Lahiri, Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant–Pyarelal and Rajesh Roshan. She has even sung alongside Mohammed Rafi ("Maria") and Sudesh Bhosle. After her comeback, she has performed in countries of the Middle East like Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain and even in parts of Europe like London.^[11] She is seen performing in the 2004 Konkani film Aleesha,^[7] and the 2019 Konkani musical film, Kantaar, features Cordeiro singing some jazz songs.^[12]

Films

• Bombay Velvet, the Bollywood film, is set in the 1960s and Cordeiro's voice was inspirational to Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. Anurag Kashyap says that Anushka's character is a tribute to Lorna.^[13]
• Nachom-ia Kumpasar (transl. Let's dance to the rhythm), is a Konkani film. It is based on the lives of jazz musicians Chris Perry and Cordeiro. The film takes its title from the name of a song by the two artists. The story is told through over 20 popular Konkani songs from the 1960s and 1970s that have been re-recorded for this film. It is set in the 1960s and is a tribute to the 'unsung' Konkani musicians of that era.^[14][15]

Advertisements

An international ad campaign by Nike for its cricket equipment featured a Konkani song "Rav Patrao Rav", sung by Ella Castellino, based on the song "Bebdo" as the theme music. The lyrics to the new song were written by Agnello Dias (who worked in the JWT advertising agency that made the ad) and it was recomposed by Ram Sampath.^{[16][promotion?]}

Cordeiro is a Brand Ambassador and also inaugurated "The Goan Sip" packaged drinking water. She appears in the advertisement campaign video singing in the tune of "Tuzo Mog".^{[17][promotion?]}