Charles Aznavour: biography, best songs, interesting facts, listen

Charles Aznavour

He did not like being called a "living legend." But if you try to determine the place that this miniature Frenchman of Armenian descent occupies in the world musical culture, you cannot tell more precisely. He managed to turn all his shortcomings - small stature, discreet appearance, cracked voice into dignity and made a real revolution in the minds and hearts of millions of people, showing how the song sounds when an artist sings. Faces of his creative nature is not to be considered - a poet, composer, writer, scriptwriter, actor, director. And yet, in the minds of many, he is above all a performer of his own songs, the brightest representative of French chanson. No wonder at the turn of the century, following the results of international voting on the Internet, the name of Charles Aznavour was named in the top three of the best singers along with Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.

A brief biography of Charles Aznavour and a lot of interesting facts about the singer can be found on our page.

short biography

The circumstances of the birth of Charles Aznavour are an excellent illustration of biblical wisdom - the ways of God are mysterious. He could be born in sunny Georgia, like his father came from an Armenian family. America could become his homeland, where his parents sought, fleeing, like the entire Armenian people, from the persecution of the Turks. But France became a transit point on the way to the American dream for the family of the suffering Armenian immigrants. In anticipation of a US visa family settled in Paris. There, in 1924, Shahnur Vahinak Aznavourian, whom the whole world today knows by the name of Charles Aznavour, was born before the appointed time.

By the time Charles was born, his parents were so filled with love and gratitude for France, which sheltered them, that there was no question of leaving for the United States. The father of the future star of the French chanson, Misha Aznavuryan, opened a cozy restaurant, which was frequented by Russian and Armenian immigrants. Aznavour's grandfather, who had previously served as a chef at the Tiflis governor, conjured the restaurant kitchen, but attracted numerous visitors not only the opportunity to pass the evening over a delicious dinner. The Aznavouryan couple managed to create an atmosphere in their establishment permeated with the spirit of creativity. Aznavour's father was a professional singer in the past and in the evenings in the restaurant you could often hear his beautiful velvet baritone. Mother in her youth, she studied at the school of acting. It is not surprising that with such parents, the artistic debut of Charles took place quite early - at the age of five the boy was already delighting the audience with a violin. At the age of nine, he begins performing in theater productions, and at 12 he gets to the set for the first time.

The Second World War brought great changes in the life of the family. My father enlisted in volunteers and went to war, and his concerns about his daily bread lay in many ways on the shoulders of the young Charles. By that time, the family restaurant had to be closed, there was nothing to maintain it. Charles took up any work - he sold newspapers on the streets, traveled around the province as part of a theater troupe, in the evenings he played in cafes and nightclubs, tunes he composed himself. In one of these evenings, he met a novice pianist and composer Pierre Roche. The young people were filled with sympathy for each other, but the beginning of their creative tandem was laid by the case: once the entertainer mistakenly replaced his Roche number and announced his performance with Aznavour. It did not embarrass the friends, and they came out to the public together, impromptu performing several songs by Charles. So they had the idea of ​​creating a duet, which they called "Rosh and Aznavour." The audience took the duo quite favorably, so both friends were welcome guests in Parisian restaurants and bars. In one of them, Aznavour noticed the idol of the French public. Edith Piaf. This moment was a turning point in his life and career. With her characteristic acumen, Piaf unmistakably guessed creative potential in a nondescript puny Armenian with a hoarse voice and a large nose of enormous power. Beginning in 1946, for almost 8 years he became the shadow of a great singer. Together with Roche, he performs in the first part of her concerts, and it was at this time that his first success came to him. With her light hand, he goes on tour to the United States and Canada, where he manages to earn extra money, and even decides on a plastic surgery to correct the nose. But constant dependence on whims and whims Piaf begins to oppress Aznavour. After a break with the singer, he had to re-make himself.

His solo career began with failure. Aznavour was more known as the author of the hits, which were performed by famous artists, including Piaf, therefore, after the very first speeches, critics unanimously declared that with such an unpresentable appearance and lack of voice, he had nothing to do on the stage. This did not break Aznavour. In 1956, his performance in the main concert hall of France "Olympia" turns into a triumph. The stunning success of the concert, which he gave in 1963 in New York at Carnegie Hall, confirmed his status as a world star. Americans began to call him “French Frank Sinatra” with respect. Gradually, the scope of his work expanded. In 1965 in the Paris "Chatelet" put his first operetta "Monsieur Carnaval". Subsequently, he created two more - "Douchka" in 1973 and "Lotrek" in 2004.

In the 60s, the public recognized Aznavour as a talented film actor. During his cinematic life he had the opportunity to work with famous directors - Claude Lelouche, Jean Cocteau, Claude Chabrol.

But his fame as a singer and composer greatly eclipses the glory of a film actor. In 1971, at the Venice Film Festival, he was awarded the "Golden Lion" award for the song "To Die from Love," which Aznavour wrote for the same film. Interest in his work is huge. His songs include cult performers in their repertoire - Liza Minnelli, Ray Charles, Fred Astaire, Julio Iglesias, Bob Dylan.

In 1971-72, he gives concerts at Olympia, where his longtime partner on the stage, Pierre Roche, performs with him.

The year 1974 was marked for the singer by the presentation in London of a gold and platinum disc for the song "She" ("She"), which no Frenchman had ever won. By the 40th anniversary of the creative life of Charles Aznavour writes a new album "Charles Aznavour chante Dimey".

By the 90th anniversary of the legend of world chanson in France released a complete collection of his albums, which made up 32 discs. They include all the records of Aznavour since 1948. The maestro made himself another gift for the anniversary - he gave a concert in Moscow, which was a great success.

In recent years, the singer lived with his family in Switzerland, in a picturesque place in the vicinity of Lausanne, and continued to work - write songs, write memoirs, because, by his own admission, he could not not work.

On October 1, 2018, the chanson was no more; he spent the last days in the south of France.

Interesting Facts

• The maestro did not like to celebrate his birthday and does not look at his age. In his opinion, a person should live in old years as if he were 30 years old.

• In his house Aznavour wished to decorate every room in the style of any era - from baroque to modern.
• A column 80 cm high and weighing about 8 kg - this is how a stack of disks with Aznavour records looks.
• In 2010, the climber Sergey Kayfajyan conquered one of the peaks of the Pamir. Peak height of 5250 meters, he decided to give the name of Charles Aznavour. At the very top of it, the climber set up a tablet with a portrait of his famous compatriot.
• Aznavour had an Italian restaurant. This is a kind of family tradition. In the Kavkaz restaurant, owned by his father, the Russian and Armenian émigrés, as well as the Parisian intelligentsia, were going to be in their time. Georges Pitoyev himself, a famous Armenian and French director.
• Aznavour is a passionate admirer of the talent of the Russian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky.
• In November 2000, the 76-year-old chansonnier was appointed Minister of Culture of France.
• In France, there is a special award "Orange", which journalists celebrate public people, distinguished by goodwill to the press. In 1970, Charles Aznavour received a whole basket of oranges as a token of gratitude for his openness and respect for the work of journalists.
• During all his trips, the maestro, along with notes, grabbed the directory of the best restaurants, and before the concert he always ate and drank a couple of glasses of wine. Preferred French and Italian cuisine.

• Aznavour was awarded the honorary title Knight of Canada. In the list of the 75 most famous Canadians with this title, French chansonnier is the only foreigner.
• The maestro was interested in modern trends in music and willingly provided assistance to young musicians. In particular, in 2008 he publicly spoke in support of rap culture and sang several songs with rapper Cary James, who were included in the album of a young artist.
• Charles Aznavour knew 300 Russian words, but putting together coherent sentences is a problem for him.
• In May 2017, the premiere of the "La Boheme" ballet dedicated to the works of Aznavour was held at the Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theater. The performance is based on 12 songs of the French chanson. The maestro personally attended the premiere.
• The famous chanson had an outstanding literary gift. He is the author of three autobiographical books - "Aznavour about Aznavour", "Past and Future", "Loud whisper" and the collection of stories "My dad is a giant".

Best songs

"Une Vie d'Amour" (literally "Life in Love", better known as "Eternal Love") appeared by chance, and was written specifically for the Soviet political detective story Tehran-43. Filming took place in several countries, and the idea that the voice of Aznavour sounded in the frame was born to the directors of the film Alov and Naumov after fragments were shot in Paris. Aznavour was offered to write the lyrics, and as a composer they invited Georges Garvarents, a close relative of chansonnier, in collaboration with which he created many of his song masterpieces. Negotiations on this issue were lengthy, and it is not yet known what their outcome would have been if Aznavour had not seen Natalia Belokhvostikova, who had played the main role in this film. The actress made a deep impression on him, and he said: "I will write a song specifically for this mademoiselle." Initially, the meaning of the song was of an exclusively love nature, it was projected onto the relationship of the main characters of the film, which were played by Belokhvostikova and Kostolevsky. But in the process it became clear that the drama that Aznavour laid as an author and performer into it, much deeper, it grows into a separate love story, and this song is primarily about the tragedy of war, separating loved ones, and the all-conquering power of love.

"Une Vie d'Amour" (listen)

"La Bohème "(" Bohemia "). The song was written in 1965 for the operetta "Monsieur Carnaval" ("Monsieur Carnaval"), in connection with which Aznavour had to share the laurels of this well-known composition with the singer Georges Getari, who performed in this operetta. The text was written by the poet Jacques Plant. The song is dedicated to Parisian street artists who were considered bohemian on Montmartre Boulevard. Subsequently, chanson recorded versions of this favorite hit in five languages ​​- English, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese. For this song Aznavour invented the mise en scene, which became the hallmark of this hit. He will perform the last verse, he throws a white handkerchief on the floor - as a symbol of a noisy youth. In recent years, he began to throw a handkerchief into the hall - to the delight of fans, who are given the chance to take a souvenir from the concert.

"La Bohème" (listen)

"She" ("She"). Aznavour wrote this song for the English TV series "Seven Faces of Woman" ("Seven faces of a woman"). But, having sounded for the first time from a television screen, the composition gained an independent life and later decorated one of the author's combined albums. But all records of popularity this composition has broken in the UK. In 1974, this song did not leave the top lines of the charts for almost a month.

"She" (listen)

Women in the life of Aznavour

The famous chanson was married three times. The first marriage happened in early adolescence, when the future star of the world stage was barely 20 years old. His beloved Michelin Rugel was only 17, and Aznavour’s parents categorically objected to this early hasty marriage. However, Charles insisted on his and married the chosen one. A year later, they had a daughter, Seda. But a strong marriage did not work. Tours and frequent absences of the spouse led to the fact that the marriage broke up.

Aznavour made a second attempt to arrange his family life in 1955. He married singer Evelin Plessis. This marriage lasted even less than the first, and Aznavour attributes it, like the first, to the mistakes of youth.

After marriage to a Swedish woman, Ursula Torsel, whose family name is Ulla, the French public's true family happiness has found true family happiness. They have been together for fifty years. In their family were born three children, to whom they gave Russian names - Katya, Misha and Nikolai. Kate went in the footsteps of her father, she became a singer, and often performs with him at his concerts.

But with a woman who played, perhaps, the main role in his life - Edith Piaf, he was tied in exclusively friendly relations, despite the fact that everyone around him was convinced of the opposite. It was with him that Piaf shared the most intimate, including the details of her many novels. Despite the fact that this friendship was a source of many sufferings and experiences for Aznavour, he retained the warmest memories of the singer.

Armenia and Aznavour

Aznavour always had a deep respect for their ancestral roots and affection for their historical homeland. For the first time he managed to visit Armenia in 1963. On that visit, she met his grandmother’s mother, his mother’s mother. Love for the motherland and pain for the fate of the Armenian people are reflected in his work. He has a whole cycle of songs on the national theme - "Autobiography", "Jan", "Gentle Armenia". In memory of the 60th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, Aznavour, in collaboration with Georges Garvarents, created the song "They Fell", dedicated to this tragic page in the history of Armenia. Aznavour perceived the terrible earthquake that destroyed the city of Spitak in 1988 as a deeply personal tragedy. On his initiative, the "Aznavour for Armenia" charity association was founded, and a number of actions aimed at helping compatriots were held.

Armenia did not remain in debt to Aznavour. His name is one of the squares in Yerevan, and in the city of Gyumri you can see the monument to the great chanson. Since 2008, Charles Aznavour has the official status of a citizen of Armenia. A close relationship with the historic homeland and a genuine interest in everything connected with it marked the beginning of another side of the king of chanson - the diplomatic one. Since May 5, 2009, Aznavour has been acting as ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland and is its permanent representative at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Selected Filmography

Since 1937, Charles Aznavour has starred in more than 130 films. And although chanson himself considers himself primarily a singer, and not an actor, many of his films have entered the treasury of world cinema.

• "Head against the wall" (France, 1957)
• "Shoot the pianist" (France, 1960)
• "Taxi to Tobruk" (France, Spain, GDR, 1961)
• "The Devil and the Ten Commandments" (France, Italy, 1962)
• "The transformation of woodlice" (France, Italy, 1965)
• "Sweet tooth" (Italy, France, USA, 1968)
• "Lion's share" (Italy France, 1971)
• "Ten Little Indians" (Italy, Germany, France, Spain, United Kingdom, 1974)
• "Tin drum" (Germany, France, Yugoslavia, Poland, 1979)
• "Ghosts of the Hatter" (France, 1982)
• "Edith and Marcel" (France, 1983)
• "Long live life!" (France, 1984)
• "Lagoon" (Italy, Canada, 2001)
• "Ararat" (Canada, France, 2002)
• "Father Goriot" (France, Romania, Belgium, 2004)

Music in movies

The filmmakers are well aware of the profound strength and expressiveness of Aznavour’s poetry, music and voice, therefore in the credits of the paintings his name is found quite often, both as an author and as a performer.

In 1993, the world-famous chansonnier is in no hurry to sum up. He continues to write - novels, memoirs, aphorisms, scripts and, of course, songs, the number of which approaches 1400, and these are songs in various languages. Но всенародную любовь этот маленький человек с большим сердцем заслужил не только своим талантом и активной гражданской позицией, но и редким умением во все эпохи и времена оставаться самим собой - грустным романтиком, поющим о вечной любви.