Charles Aznavour was the best known French chansonnier and arguably Armenia’s most famous son. The singer who sold more than 100 million records in 80 countries died at the age of 94.
French singer Charles Aznavour has died at the age of 94, French media reported on Monday, citing his spokesman.
The musician wrote more than 1,000 chansons. Many of them, such as “La Boheme,” “Hier encore,” “La Mamma” and “She,” became worldwide hits at the hands of top performers like Shirley Bassey, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis Jr., Liza Minnelli and Nina Simone.
Aznavour could sing in seven languages, and in Germany, his “Du lässt dich geh’n” (“You’re Lettin’ Yourself Go”), addressed to a lover less than concerned with her upkeep, is a cult classic.
The multi-talented Frenchman could also act, appearing in Volker Schlöndorff’s The Tin Drum and in Francois Truffaut’s masterpiece Shoot the Piano Player, where he imitated a degenerate bar pianist. He also appeared on camera for French filmmaker Claude Chabrol and for Canadian director Atom Egoyan’s 2002 work Ararat about the genocide of Armenians in present-day Turkey.
By 1970, Aznavour was known throughout Europe
Armenian roots
Shahnour Varinag Aznavourian was born in Paris on May 22, 1924, the son of Armenian refugees. His father was a singer and his mother an actress.
Charles got his first theater gig at age nine and trotted with pride through the immigrant district where he spent his childhood. People knew him as the boy who acted. But he also went through much teasing — for being ugly, too small or hardly moving on stage.
A short man — 1.61 meters (5’3″) — but one with a relentless will, he made it to the top in the European music world. The famed singer Edith Piaf helped him achieve his breakthrough and took him along on a tour of France and the US in 1946. From then on, his career hit peak after peak.
“I don’t know if I’m a good singer in the classical sense,” Aznavour once said. “What’s more important than the beauty of a voice is its expressiveness and how someone interprets a song, fills it with life. With my songs, I’ve always tried to tell personal, intimate stories.”
Aznavour and Liza Minelli gave charity concerts together
Nearly 100 albums
Over the course of his 70-year career, Charles Aznavour released nearly 100 albums with a vast range of duet partners including Placido Domingo, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra and Sting. He received countless prizes and honors, and was named Entertainer of the Century in the US in 1998.
There was a time when he loved to show off his wealth, swimming in luxury and driving a Rolls Royce. His marriage to Ulla Ingegerd Thorssell from Sweden in 1967 was his third — and the one in which he said he found happiness.
Nicolas Sarkozy visited Armenia in 2011 together with the singer
Support for Armenia
Aznavour used his fame to support his parents’ home country — financially, politically and morally. His foundation, Aznavour for Armenia, collected millions for charity.
Former French President Jacques Chirac named Aznavour an Officier de la Legion d’Honneur for his political and social engagement. In December 2008, the singer was granted Armenian citizenship, and he has been the country’s ambassador in Switzerland and to UNICEF since 2009. Yerevan, the country’s capital, is home to a cultural center named after Aznavour.