Charles Aznavour

"Aznavour" redirects here. For other uses, see Aznavour (disambiguation).

National Hero of Armenia
Charles Aznavour
Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնաւուրեան
Aznavour in 1961
Born
Charles Aznavourian

(1924-05-22)22 May 1924
Paris, France
Died1 October 2018(2018-10-01) (aged 94)
Mouriès, France
Burial placeMontfort-l'Amaury (Yvelines), France
Citizenship
Occupations
  • Singer-lyricist
  • actor
  • public activist
  • diplomat
Years active1933–2018
Spouses
Micheline Rugel
​
​
(m. 1946; div. 1952)​
Evelyne Plessis
​
​
(m. 1954; div. 1960)​
Ulla Thorsell
​
(m. 1966)​
Children6, including Seda
Awards
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Websitecharlesaznavour.com

Charles Aznavour (/ˌæznəˈvʊər/ AZ-nə-VOOR, French: [ʃaʁl aznavuʁ]; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian,[a] 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French singer of Armenian descent, as well as a lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice:[3] clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. In a career as a composer, singer and songwriter, spanning over 70 years, he recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in 9 languages.[4] Moreover, he wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 songs for himself and others. Aznavour is regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time and an icon of 20th-century pop culture.[5]

He performed in multiple languages: in French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Armenian,[6] Neapolitan,[7] Russian, and later in his career, in Kabyle. He wrote or co-wrote more than a thousand songs, either for himself or for other artists. 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[8] and was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland the following year, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva.[9]

One of France's most popular and enduring singers,[10][11] he was dubbed France's Frank Sinatra,[12][13] while music critic Stephen Holden described Aznavour as a "French pop deity".[14] Several media outlets described him as the most famous Armenian of all time.[10][15] Jean Cocteau, who cast him in his 1960's Le testament d'Orphée, joked "Before Aznavour despair was unpopular".[16] Between 1974 and 2016, Aznavour received around sixty gold and platinum records around the world.[17] According to his record company, the total sales of Aznavour's recordings were over 180 million units.[18][19][20]

He started his last world tour in 2014. In 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later that year, he and his sister, Aida Aznavourian [hy], were awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Award for sheltering Jews during World War II. His concert at the NHK Hall in Osaka, in September 2018,[21] would be his final performance.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hovannisian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Katz, Ephraim (26 February 2013). The Film Encyclopedia (7th ed.). New York: HarperCollins. p. 1653. ISBN 9780062277114.
  3. ^ Riding, Alan (18 October 1998). "Aznavour, The Last Chanteur". The New York Times. his highly distinct tenor voice
  4. ^ Charles Aznavour recorded in French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Armenian (Yes kou rimet'n tchim kidi, La goutte d'eau and Sirerk), Neapolitan (Napule amica mia), Russian (Vetchnai lioubov) and Kabyle (La bohème in a duet with Idir).Charles Aznavour Songs Catalog
  5. ^ "Master of the chanson Charles Aznavour dead at 94". Deutsche Welle. 1 October 2018.
  6. ^ Comme le titre Yes kou rimet'n tchim kidi.
  7. ^ Comme le titre Napule amica mia.
  8. ^ Itzkoff, David (26 December 2008). "Aznavour Granted Armenian Citizenship". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Aznavour to become Armenian envoy". BBC. 13 February 2009.
  10. ^ a b Cords, Suzanne (21 May 2014). "The master of the chanson". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 30 June 2014. Long a legend, Charles Aznavour is the best known French chansonnier and arguably Armenia's most famous son.
  11. ^ Shea, Michael (2006). The Freedom Years: Tactical Tips for the Trailblazer Generation. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. p. 122. ISBN 9781841127545. One of France's best known pop stars, Charles Aznavour
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Deming was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (28 October 2013). "Charles Aznavour, Royal Albert Hall, London – review". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  14. ^ Holden, Stephen (30 April 2009). "Aznavour Exploring Both Love and l'Amour". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  15. ^ Akopian, Aram (2001). Armenians and the World: Yesterday and Today. Yerevan: Noyan Tapan. p. 91. ISBN 9789993051299. It will be probably just to say that today he is the most famous Armenian, known and admired all over the world.
  16. ^ Alexis Petridis (1 October 2018). "From drag queens to dead marriages, Charles Aznavour was far from easy listening". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Les certifications". Snepmusique.com.
  18. ^ "Charles Aznavour". Universalmusic.fr.
  19. ^ "Musique : rien n'arrête Charles Aznavour". lanouvellerepublique.fr. 23 January 2018.
  20. ^ "1300 titres, 80 films, 8 langues… La carrière de Charles Aznavour en chiffres". Leparisien.fr. 1 October 2018.
  21. ^ "Le Japon pleure la disparition de Charles Aznavour". RTL France (in French). 2 October 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.


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