Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour ( AZ-nə-VOOR, French: [ʃaʁl aznavuʁ]; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, Armenian: Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրյան, Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavuryan; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. In a career as a composer, singer and songwriter, spanning over 70 years, he recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in 9 languages. Moreover, he wrote or co-wrote more than 1,000 songs for himself and others. Aznavour has been widely recognized as one of the greatest and most influential musicians of all time. One of France's most popular and enduring singers, Aznavour sold between 180 and 200 million records during his lifetime, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He was dubbed France's Frank Sinatra, while music critic Stephen Holden described Aznavour as a "French pop deity". He was also arguably the most famous Armenian of his time. In 1998, Aznavour was named Entertainer of the Century by CNN and users of Time Online from around the globe. He was recognized as the century's outstanding performer, with nearly 18% of the total vote, edging out Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. Jean Cocteau once said: "Before Aznavour despair was unpopular". Aznavour sang for presidents, popes and royalty, as well as at humanitarian events. In response to the 1988 Armenian earthquake, he founded the charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia along with his long-time friend impresario Levon Sayan. In 2008, he was granted Armenian citizenship, and was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland the following year, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva. He started his last world tour in 2014. On 24 August 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later that year, he and his sister were awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Award for sheltering Jews during World War II. His concert at the NHK Hall in Osaka, on 19 September 2018, would be his final performance. |
Birth and Death Data: Born May 22, 1924 (6th arrondissement of Paris), Died October 1, 2018 (Mouriès)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1946 - 1951
Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, composer, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia (U.K.) | CL8189 | 10-in. | between February and December 1946 | J'ai bu | Jo Boyer ; Georges Ulmer ; Jean Valz | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | songwriter | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL8564 | 10-in. | 7/21/1948 | Il pleut | Edith Piaf | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL8848 | 10-in. | 7/12/1950 | C'est un gars | Robert Chauvigny ; Edith Piaf | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL9007 | 10-in. | 7/4/1951 | Une enfant | Robert Chauvigny ; Choeurs R. Saint-Paul ; Edith Piaf | Female vocal solo, with orchestra and vocal ensemble | lyricist, composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Aznavour, Charles," accessed June 26, 2022, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/356040.
Aznavour, Charles. (2022). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/356040.
"Aznavour, Charles." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2022. Web. 26 June 2022.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Charles Aznavour
Discogs: Charles Aznavour
Allmusic: Charles Aznavour
Apple Music: Charles Aznavour
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Aznavour, Charles - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85094806
Wikidata: Charles Aznavour - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1785
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/64001137
MusicBrainz: Charles Aznavour - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5f264b87-d5f6-487d-aa3e-ae4c5f0c6fc9
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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