80-year career of ‘French Sinatra’
BY LORI HINNANT THE singer known as “the French Sinatra” has died at the age of 94.
In a career spanning eight decades, Charles Aznavour sold more than 180million records.
By his own estimate, he wrote more than 1000 songs. His love song She topped the UK charts for four weeks in 1974 and was covered by Elvis Costello for the film Notting Hill.
Aznavour – who was also an actor, starring in a string of movies – began his career as a songwriter for Edith Piaf. He was still performing and was due to start a new tour of France next month.
His reputation in the US spanned generations.
Liza Minnelli, who met him when she was a teenager, described following him to Paris.
“He really taught me everything I know about singing – how each song is a different movie,” she said in a 2013 interview.
In his autobiography, Aznavour said: “What were my faults? My voice, my size, my gestures, my lack of culture and education, my honesty, or my lack of personality.
“My voice? I cannot change it. The teachers I consulted all agreed I shouldn’t sing but nevertheless I continued to sing until my throat was sore.”
Born Shanoun Varenagh Aznavourian in Paris on May 22, 1924, to Armenian parents, he never forgot his roots.
He founded Aznavour and Armenia, a non-profit organisation created after the devastating earthquake that hit Soviet Armenia in 1988.
French President Emmanuel Macron said of Aznavour: “Charles Aznavour will have accompanied the joys and sorrows of three generations.”