Charles Aznavour

One of the greatest performers of French chanson, Charles Aznavour left an indelible mark with songs such as "Je m'voyais déjà", "La Bohème" and "Emmenez-moi". Born Shahnourh Vaghinag Aznavourian on May 22, 1924, to Armenian parents who had emigrated to Paris to escape the genocide of 1915, Charles Aznavourian was registered as a child and, as a teenager, was drawn to the theater and the world of show business. A singer and actor, he shortened his name for the stage and in 1941 met composer Pierre Roche, with whom he formed the duo Roche et Aznavour. Supported by Édith Piaf, the two artists followed her on an American tour and recorded a number of songs, including "Le Feutre taupé" (1948). While Roche remained in Canada, Charles Aznavour continued alone in the cabarets, establishing a reputation as a songwriter, notably for Gilbert Bécaud. He opened for Sidney Bechet at the Olympia in 1955, and signed with the Barclay label, which released his first hit the following year, "Je m'voyais déjà", a song rejected by Yves Montand. Hits followed hits throughout the 1960s, in the classic observational style of "Tu t'laisses aller" (1960), "Les Comédiens" (1962), "La Mamma", "Et pourtant" (1963), " Hier encore", "For Me, formidable", "Que c'est triste Venise" (1964), "La Bohème" (1965) or "Emmnez-moi" (1967), while rock'n'roll and the yéyé wave swept across France. Impervious to fashion, Aznavour nonetheless wrote "Retiens la nuit" for Johnny Hallyday and "La Plus Belle pour aller danser" for Sylvie Vartan. Actor in François Truffaut's Tirez sur le pianiste (1960), Aznavour filled New York's Carnegie Hall and appeared in a host of films, including Un cab pour Tobrouk (1960), Paris au mois d'août (1965) and Le Temps des loups (1969), Le Tambour (1979) and Édith et Marcel (1982). His film scores include Les Quatre Vérités (1962) and Cherchez l'idole (1963). Author of "Comme ils disent" and "Les Plaisirs démodés" in 1972, his English-language song "The Old Fashioned Way" reached no. 38 in the UK, and the adaptation of "Tous les visages de l'amour", "She", no. 1. In 1989, he brought together a panel of 80 artists for the charity song "Pour toi Arménie" (No. 1), in support of the earthquake-stricken people of Armenia. After a month of concerts at the Palais des Congrès in Paris with Liza Minnelli (1991), Charles Aznavour diversified his repertoire: he sang "Ave Maria" with Luciano Pavarotti and recorded the album Jazznavour (1998), featuring Michel Petrucciani, Richard Galliano and Dianne Reeves. Made Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur in 2003, he embarked on several farewell tours, in the USA and across Europe and South America, and in 2008 performed duets with Elton John, Sting, Julio Iglesias, Céline Dion and Johnny Hallyday, before the albums Charles Aznavour and the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Band (2009), Aznavour Toujours (2011) and Encores (2015) and Palais des Sports 2015 (2016). Awarded an honorary Victoire de la musique in 2010, the great representative of French chanson around the world performed at the Olympia in Paris, then in Moscow, Montreal and Los Angeles in 2011 and on a world tour in 2014, while the tribute album Aznavour, Sa Jeunesse was released with Grand Corps Malade, Oxmo Puccino, Kendji Girac, Vitaa and Camélia Jordana. Charles Aznavour, who had his star on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles in 2017, died after two concerts in Japan, on October 1, 2018, at the age of 94. His funeral is followed by a national tribute at Les Invalides.

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