Charles Aznavour, beloved French crooner, dies at 94

FRENCH singer Charles Aznavour, who stole the hearts of millions with decades of haunting love songs, has died aged 94, his spokeswoman said on Monday.

Mr Aznavour passed away overnight at one of his homes, in the village of Mouries, north of Marseille.

The singer, who sold more than 100 million records in 80 countries, began his career peddling his words and music to the Paris boulevardiers of the ’40s and ’50s, Edith Piaf, Maurice Chevalier and Charles Trenet.

But it became evident that Mr Aznavour himself best interpreted the bittersweet emotions of such songs as Hier Encore (Yesterday When I Was Young), Après l’Amour (After Love) and La Bohème.

Sometimes described as France’s Frank Sinatra, Aznavour was born in Paris on May 22, 1924, to Armenian parents. His birth name was Shahnour Aznavourian.

He grew up on Paris’ Left Bank and began performing at the age of nine. His father was a singer, cook and sometime restaurant manager, and his mother an actress. His first public performances were at Armenian gatherings where his father and older sister Aida sang and Charles danced.

Short in stature at 160 centimetres, Mr Aznavour possessed a magnetic stage presence that brought rapt audiences to their feet at venues such as the Olympia in Paris and New York’s Carnegie Hall. Mr Aznavour launched a farewell tour in 2006 but his goodbye was short-lived, and he went on to tour again and again, until months before his death. He leaves behind his third wife, Ulla, and six children.

As a student, French President Emmanuel Macron was a big fan of Mr Aznavour and sang his songs at karaoke nights, according to former classmates.

After the news of death on Monday, Mr Macron tweeted: “So profoundly French and so viscerally attached to his Armenian roots, known all over the world, his masterpieces, his tone and his unique appeal will long outlive him.”