On the death of Charles Aznavour: With sad class

In 1976, Charles Aznavour was asked by Kermit the Frog in an interview for the "Muppet Show" why Frenchmen are so successful in love. He replied, "That's because of the language, because French is the language of love, if you want to be successful with women - learn French!" The frog said, "That will not help much, because I do not know women who speak French." Then Aznavour: "That does not matter, maybe it's even an advantage." As proof, he asks Miss Piggy and whispers her the phone number of the Paris garbage collection in the ear, whereupon the pig throws her hair, the singer kisses and, close to orgasm, pleasurably grunts.

Such things were still allowed in the children's program at the time, and today, looking back on Charles Aznavour's life, it is the tears that come with so much sovereign humor and self-irony. Also striking is the camera presence Aznavours, which drew even in the presence of doll pop stars all the attention.

Aznavour, born in 1924 in Paris as the son of Armenian refugees as Schahnur Waghinak Asnawurjan, quickly became a top star in the French entertainment industry with his many talents, in the film, on stage, with his chansons.

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He played the role of his life in 1960 as a tragic pianist in François Truffaut's Nouvelle Vague classic "Shoot the pianist". The role united everything that Aznavour should henceforth develop into a myth of himself: He played the famous fictitious concert pianist Edouard Saroyan, whom destiny separates from his wife, who commits suicide before his eyes. In order to survive this blow, he takes on a new name and from now on incognito plays bar music on a piano in front of a semi-criminal clientele, tragic, elegant, charismatic, with a sad class that was only his own.

The concerts that Charles Aznavour gave to sold-out houses in real life and around the world lived off this romantic aura. His chansons, which he sang in five languages, lived on their humanity, their tenderness, their wisdom and a persevering will to survive - all cast in concise singing. Aznavours Chansons were about life and were permeated by a poetic force that is second to none in the world of songs.

Discovered by Piaf, worshiped by Dylan

With his voice as expressive as it was fragile Aznavour spoke of consolation, and his more than 800 self-written songs - about women, outsiders, war children and life artists - tell of failure and rising again. Small stories that invite you to identify and remain unforgettable in the harmony of language and music. Aznavour sold more than 180 million records during his career.

The breakthrough took place in big steps. At the end of the Second World War, Edith Piaf became aware of the young dancer and singer, who made small money in restaurants. She took him into her entourage and started writing Chansons for her, including in 1952 the world hit "Plus bleu que tes yeux" ("Bluer als sie Augen"). Aznavour stepped out of the shadow of the Piaf a few years later, when he landed several hits in a row in the sixties with "For me formidable", "Mourir d'aimer" and "La bohème" and became a star himself.

As an entertainer, he was in demand as no other singer from France at that time, as an actor, he had good advisers and got recurring roles in major international productions, including in Claude Chabrol's "The Phantom of the Hatter" (1982) and as a toy dealer Sigismund Markus in Volker Schlöndorff's "The Tin Drum" (1979).

Aznavour's fame shone far beyond France's borders. When Bob Dylan was asked in 1987 by the American "Rolling Stone" magazine if there was a stage performer who had left a lasting impression on him, he named only two names: the blues musician Lightning Hopkins and - Charles Aznavour.

The small, tall man was 94 years old. He was still on stage until an accident in July, when he broke his arm and had to interrupt a world tour. With his death, the world loses one of the last giants of a time that suddenly seems irretrievable. But the songs stay.