He became famous with songs like "You let yourself go", "She", "La Bohème" and "Emmenez-moi": the old master of the French chanson, Charles Aznavour, died at the age of 94. This was announced by his spokeswoman in Paris.
Aznavour was born in Paris in 1924, and his Armenian parents had fled to the French capital for fear of Turkish invasion, where they opened a restaurant. He grew up with his older sister in an atmosphere of music and theater - his father was a trained baritone, his mother an actress. Already as a child he played smaller theater roles. From 1942 Aznavour began to write their own songs. Edith Piaf discovered him in 1946 after hearing him sing in a suburban café - she became his mentor and lover. A multi-year tour of North America drove his career further.
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Charles Aznavour: Master of the songIn 1954 Aznavour, who sang in several languages, made his breakthrough as a chanson singer and his rise to the top of the list of representatives of this genre. His topics: Armenia, relationships and love. At the same time he was able to profile himself as an actor from the late fifties: his breakthrough came in 1960 with "Shoot the Pianist" by François Truffaut. With the Oscar-winning adaptation "The Tin Drum" by Volker Schlöndorff, he also made a name for himself as an actor in Germany.
Especially since the seventies Aznavour wrote increasingly socially critical songs. In 1997, who also worked as a composer, arranger and copywriter for other artists, he was awarded the prize for Best Male Singer by the Union of French Singers and Composers. In 2004, Charles Aznavour was promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor by President Jacques Chirac - the French-Armenian artist thrilled his audience until old age.