Charles Aznavour 🇫🇷 22 May 1924 🇦🇲

Charles Aznavour

May 22, 1924   🎼  October 1, 2018

  

Birth name:     Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian
Born :              22 May 1924   Paris, France
Occupation(s):   Singer-lyricist actor public activist diplomat

Died    1 October 2018 (aged 94)  

Burial place    Montfort-l'Amaury, Yvelines, France
Citizenships:  France  🇫🇷  Armenia (from 2008)  🇦🇲
Spouses :   
Micheline Rugel (m. 1946; div. 1952)​
Evelyne Plessis (m. 1954; div. 1960)​
Ulla Thorsell (m. 1966)​
Children:   5, including Seda 

🗣 👉  Click  Below  to   Choose   a Video   

1	La Bohème	4:01
2	Plus Bleu Que Tes Yeux  + Edith Piaf	3:19
3	Emmenez-Moi	3:39
4	Et Pourtant	2:39
5	Sa Jeneusse  From 2.09  Hier Encore	4:26
6	Non, Je N'ai Rien Oublié (With Lyrics)	6:33
7	París - "La Boheme" ()	3:11
8	Et Pourtant -  (Lyrics)	2:52
9	Yesterday When I Was Young	3:34
10	Et Pourtant	2:40
11	C'est Fini	2:42
12	Ave Maria	2:12
13	La Boheme -  Aznavour +Josh Groban	9:35
14	Hier Encore - Paroles	3:24
15	Isabelle	3:14
16	Muppet Show The Old Fashioned Way	2:59
17	Que C'est Triste Venice -  Lyrics  +Español	2:38
18	Tu T'laisses Aller   1962	3:30
19	Que C'est Triste Venise	2:38
20	C'est Fini	2:46
21	Je M'voyais Deja Lyrics	3:17
22	For Me Formidable	2:20
23	Emmenez Moi  - Paroles	3:32
24	La Boheme  Paroles+ English Lyrics	4:05
25	Comme Ils Disent 1991	4:42
26	Hier Encore	2:19

Charles Aznavour born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, Armenian: Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան; 22 May 1924.

French, later naturalised Armenian, singer, lyricist, actor, public activist and diplomat. 

Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. In a career as a singer and songwriter, spanning over 70 years, he recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in 9 languages – namely French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Armenian, Neapolitan, Russian, and, later in his career, Kabyle.   Moreover, he wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 songs for himself and others. Aznavour is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters in history and an icon of 20th-century pop culture.

Aznavour sang for presidents, popes and royalty, as well as at humanitarian events. In response to the 1988 Armenian earthquake, he founded the charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia along with his long-time friend impresario Lévon Sayan. In 2008, he was granted Armenian citizenship and was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland the following year, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva.

One of France's most popular and enduring singers, he was dubbed France's Frank Sinatra, while music critic Stephen Holden described Aznavour as a "French pop deity". Several media outlets described him as the most famous Armenian of all time. Jean Cocteau, who cast him in his 1960 Le Testament d'Orphée, joked "Before Aznavour despair was unpopular". Between 1974 and 2016, Aznavour received around sixty gold and platinum records around the world. According to his record company, the total sales of Aznavour's recordings were over 180 million units

In 1998, Aznavour was named Entertainer of the Century by CNN and users of Time Online from around the globe. He was recognized as the century's outstanding performer, with nearly 18% of the total vote, edging out Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.

Aznavour has sung for presidents, popes and royalty, as well as at humanitarian events. In response to the 1988 Armenian earthquake, he founded the charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia along with his long-time friend impresario Levon Sayan. In 2009, he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva.

On 24 August 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Life and career

Aznavour was born in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, to Armenian immigrants Michael Aznavourian  and Knar Baghdasarian, an Armenian from İzmir, Turkey. 

His father sang in restaurants in France before establishing a Caucasian restaurant called Le Caucase. Charles's parents introduced him to performing at an early age, and he dropped out of school aged nine, taking the stage name "Aznavour". 

His big break came in 1946 when the singer Édith Piaf heard him sing and arranged to take him with her on tour in France and to the United States.

Charles Aznavour et  Édith Piaf 

Music

Aznavour was already familiar with performing on stage by the time he began his career as a musician. At the age of nine, he had roles in a play called Un Petit Diable à Paris and a film entitled La Guerre des Gosses. Aznavour then turned to professional dancing and performed in several nightclubs. In 1944, he and actor Pierre Roche began a partnership and in collaborative efforts performed in numerous nightclubs. It was through this partnership that Aznavour began to write songs and sing. The partnership's first successes were in Canada in 1948-1950. Meanwhile, Aznavour wrote his first song entitled J'ai Bu in 1950.

During the early stages of his career, Aznavour opened for Edith Piaf at the Moulin Rouge. Piaf then advised Aznavour to pursue a career in singing. Piaf helped Aznavour develop a distinctive voice that stimulated the best of his abilities.

Sometimes described as "France's Frank Sinatra", Aznavour sings frequently about love. He has written musicals and more than eight hundred songs, and made more than one hundred records. 

Aznavour's voice is shaded towards the tenor range, but possesses the low range and coloration more typical of a baritone, contributing to his unique sound. Aznavour speaks and sings in many languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian, Neapolitan), which has helped him perform at Carnegie Hall, in the USA, and other major venues around the world. 

He also recorded at least one song from the 18th century Armenian poet Sayat Nova, and a popular song, Im Yare in Armenian. Que C'est Triste Venise, sung in French, Italian (Com'è Triste Venezia), Spanish (Venecia Sin Ti), English (How Sad Venice Can Be), and German (Venedig in Grau), is one of Aznavour's most famous multilingual songs.

In 1974, Aznavour became a major success in the United Kingdom where his song "She" went to Number One in the charts three times faster than anyone else's. His other well-known song in the UK was "Dance in the Old Fashioned Way".

Artists who have recorded his songs and collaborated with Aznavour include Édith Piaf, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra (Aznavour was one of the rare European singers invited to duet with him), Andrea Bocelli, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan (he named Aznavour among the greatest live performers he had ever seen), Liza Minnelli, Mia Martini, Elton John, Dalida, Serge Gainsbourg, Josh Groban, Petula Clark, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, José Carreras, Laura Pausini, Nana Mouskouri and Julio Iglesias. 

Fellow French pop singer Mireille Mathieu has sung and recorded with Aznavour on numerous occasions. In 1974, Jack Jones recorded an entire album of Aznavour compositions entitled Write Me A Love Song, Charlie, re-released on CD in 2006. 

Aznavour and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti sang Gounod's aria "Ave Maria" together. He performed with Russian cellist and friend Mstislav Rostropovich to inaugurate the French presidency of the European Union in 1995. Elvis Costello recorded "She" for the film Notting Hill. One of Aznavour's greatest friends and collaborators from the music industry is Spanish operatic tenor Plácido Domingo, who often performs his hits, most notably a solo studio recording of "Les bateaux sont partis" in 1985 and duet versions of the song in French and Spanish in 2008, as well as multiple live renditions Aznavour's "Ave Maria". 

In 1994, Aznavour performed with Domingo and Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjebø at Domingo's third annual Christmas in Vienna concert. The three singers performed a variety of carols, medleys, and duets, and the concert was televised throughout the world, as well as released on a CD internationally.

Michel Emer, Édith Piaf, Eddie Constantine et Charles Aznavour 

Film  See: Filmography

Aznavour has had a long and varied parallel career as an actor, appearing in over 80 films and TV movies. 

In 1960 Aznavour starred in François Truffaut's Tirez sur le pianiste, playing a character called Édouard Saroyan. He also put in a critically acclaimed performance in the 1974 movie And Then There Were None. Aznavour had an important supporting role in 1979's The Tin Drum, winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980. He co-starred in Claude Chabrol's Les Fantômes du chapelier (1982). 

In the 1984 version of Die Fledermaus, he appears and performs as one of Prince Orlovsky's guests. This version stars Kiri Te Kanawa and was directed by Plácido Domingo in the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. 

Aznavour starred in the 2002 movie Ararat playing Edward Saroyan, a movie director.

Legacy

When Bob Dylan was asked who some of his favorite musicians are, he stated, "I like Charles Aznavour a lot. I saw him in sixty-something at Carnegie Hall, and he just blew my brains out."

Sting has stated that "To me he [Aznavour] is an icon. Not only as a singer, but as an actor, as a personality, as a master of 'chanson'."

Aznavour was also highly regarded by Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Edith Piaf, and Liza Minnelli, with whom he performed and recorded. Minnelli has said of the singer, "He changed my entire life."

In August 2017, at age 93, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Aznavour has been widely regarded as one of the most famous Armenians of his time, and a major pop culture icon of the 20th century.

His musicality and fame abroad had a significant impact on many areas of pop culture. Aznavour's name inspired the alias of the character Char Aznable by Yoshiyuki Tomino in his 1979 mecha anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. Char would become a Japanese pop cultural icon and the most famous character over a decades-long franchise.

Music critic Stephen Holden described Aznavour as a "French pop deity".

His song "Parce que tu crois" was sampled by producer Dr. Dre for the song "What's the Difference" (featuring Eminem & Xzibit), from his album 2001.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics American figure skater Nathan Chen skated his team event and singles short programs to Aznavour's "La Bohème".

In one of the Morecambe & Wise sketches of 1978, Wise, as part of his play "What Ern Wrote", punned the singer's name as "Charles as Navour"

Death and funeral

On 1 October 2018, Aznavour was found dead in a bathtub at his home at Mouriès at the age of 94. At the time of his death his tax residence was in Saint-Sulpice, Vaud, Switzerland. The autopsy report concluded that Aznavour died of cardiorespiratory arrest complicated by an acute pulmonary edema. A requiem mass for him was held on 6 October by Catholicos Karekin II at the Armenian Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paris.

On 5 October, Aznavour was honoured with a state funeral at Les Invalides in Paris. The president Emmanuel Macron delivered a eulogy describing Aznavour as one of the most important "faces of France", and his lyrics as, "for millions of people a balm, a remedy, a comfort ... For so many decades, he has made our life sweeter, our tears less bitter." His coffin was carried out as his song, "Emmenez-Moi" (Take Me Along), played. Dignitaries attending the funeral also included French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, former presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, as well as Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and their wives.

He is interred in the family crypt at the Montfort-l'Amaury cemetery.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Aznavour