The Express

October 6, 2018 Saturday

 

 

DUBBED France's Frank Sinatra, Charles Aznavour was one of France's most celebrated entertainers for 80 years, writing and singing his own songs as well as starring in more than 60 movies.

 

He sold more than 180 million records worldwide, with his 1974 hit She – which spent four weeks at the top of the UK charts – the one for which he will be best remembered.

 

The man with the distinctive tenor voice sang in front of presidents and popes and was even named Entertainer Of The Century by CNN in 1998.

 

But despite his rapid rise to fame Azvanour never forgot his roots. Born to immigrant parents fleeing genocide in Armenia, he was a lifelong campaigner for the Armenian people and even became their Swiss ambassador in 2009.

 

While he was born Shahnour Aznavourian in Paris, his parents Michael and Knar had planned to emigrate to America but after having their visas denied, decided to start a new life as restaurateurs in the French capital.

 

Aznavour did not have a conventional upbringing. At the age of nine he dropped out of school and took to the stage in the hope of pursuing a career in acting.

 

He performed in a few plays but soon turned his attention to dancing, making appearances at several nightclubs in Paris.

 

In 1946 Aznavour met the singer Édith Piaf. The pair forged a lifelong friendship – he would later insist that they were never lovers – and he would play the piano for her to open shows at the Moulin Rouge for eight years.

 

Together, they went to America where she convinced him to pursue a career in singing, helping him to develop his distinctive, husky style.

 

In 1950, Aznavour wrote his first song in New York, Je Hais Les Dimanches, which was performed by Juliette Gréco.

 

That year Aznavour landed a record deal with a French music producer and in 1956 got his first taste of fame when his song Sur Ma Vie dominated the French charts. This was followed by Je M'voyais Déjà in 1961, which gained him widespread recognition in France.

 

In addition he continued to play film roles, starring in François Truffaut's Shoot The Piano Player, which propelled him to international stardom.

 

In 1963, he performed at New York's Carnegie Hall before touring the world.

 

Afterwards Aznavour found that he was not short of artists wanting to collaborate with him and saw his songs being recorded by iconic singers such as Ray Charles and Liza Minnelli.

 

In 1963, Azanvour's Comme Ils Disent, which was about "the confession of a transvestite", took the world by storm.

 

Released in the UK under the title As They Say, the song created controversy by addressing the then taboo subject of a gay man's heartache.

 

His other songs were equally risqué and in 1965 the hit AprÈs L'amour was banned on French radio.

 

Despite this, Aznavour's fame meant that he was in constant demand and, determined to perform on his 100th birthday, sang to packed concert arenas right up until his death.

 

Aznavour was also a vocal supporter of human rights, especially those of Armenians fleeing persecution.

 

In 2006, he performed a concert in the Armenian capital Yerevan to mark the anniversary of First World War massacres and from 2009 was the country's ambassador to Switzerland and to Unicef.

 

Aznavour died at his home in MouriÈs in south-eastern France.

 

Married three times, Aznavour is survived by his third wife Ulla, their three children, and two children from an earlier marriage. A son predeceased him.