Aznavour has sung 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 2009, he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva. On 24 August 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On 17 September 2018, his last concert took place in NHK Hall, Tokyo.
Charles Aznavour died on 1 October 2018.
Charles Aznavour was perhaps the best-known French music hall entertainer in the world -- renowned the world over for the bittersweet love songs he has written and sung, which seem to embody the essence of French popular song, and also for his appearances on screen in such wildly divergent fare as Shoot the Piano Player, Candy, and The Tin Drum. His status as the quintessential French popular culture icon is something of an irony for a man who identifies himself most closely with his Armenian heritage. His father was a singer and sometime-restaurateur, while his mother was an actress and part-time seamstress. His father's singing, done in a notably impassioned style, heavily influenced Aznavour's approach to singing as a boy. Although he had a voracious appetite for music, he also had a serious impediment growing up, in the form of a paralyzed vocal cord that gave his voice a raspy quality. He channeled some of his energy into theater, making both his stage and screen debuts at age nine, in 1933, in the theater piece Un bon petit diable and in the film La guerre des gosses. As an adolescent, he danced in nightclubs and sold newspapers, as well as touring with theatrical companies, and he wrote a nightclub act in partnership with Pierre Roche -- Aznavour wrote the lyrics to their songs and it was through that material that he began his singing career. Early on, he learned to overcome his fears about his vocal limitations, in part with help from singing legend Édith Piaf, for whom he worked as a chauffeur, among other capacities; with her help, he developed a style that suited his capabilities and played to his strengths and also continued writing songs in earnest, some of which were performed by Piaf.
His success came very slowly, however. Aznavour at first found some difficulty being accepted as a composer in France or anywhere else. His compositions, although considered tame by any modern standard, were regarded as too risqué for French radio and were banned from the airwaves for a decade or more, from the late '40s through the end of the 1950s; American publishers seemed equally reticent about them, as he discovered on a visit to New York in 1948. That trip did yield his first performing engagement in the city, however, at the Cafe Society Downtown in Greenwich Village. For the next decade, Aznavour made his living as a performer in second-tier clubs and middle- or bottom-of-the-bill berths on three continents. His mix of daringly original and frank love songs, coupled with a limited but very expressive singing style, left audiences somewhat bewildered at first.
His breakthrough came in 1956, during a vaudeville engagement in Casablanca, where the audience reaction was so positive that Aznavour was moved to headliner status. After this, it became easier for the singer to find better engagements in France; by 1958 he even had a recording contract. He made his screen debut that same year in a dramatic role, playing an epileptic in George Franju's La tête contre les murs. He also composed music for Alex Joff's Du rififi chez les femmes in 1958; From there, he moved on to bigger roles in better movies, including Jean Cocteau's Testament of Orpheus and Francois Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player. The latter movie turned Aznavour into a screen star in France and opened the way for his breakthrough in America. He sang at Carnegie Hall in the early '60s and followed this up in 1965 with a one-man show, The World of Charles Aznavour, at the Ambassador Hotel in New York, which drew rave notices from audiences and critics alike. By that time, the once-struggling singer had secured his first American LP release with the similarly titled album The World of Charles Aznavour on Reprise Records, the label founded and run by Frank Sinatra.
Aznavour would be the last to compare himself with those whom he regards as truly gifted vocalists, such as Sinatra and Mel Tormé, preferring to think of himself as a composer who also happens to sing. His style of performing has been compared variously to Maurice Chevalier and Sinatra and has remained enduringly popular for four decades. Almost all of Aznavour's songs deal with love and its permutations, running the gamut from upbeat, joyous pieces such as Après l'amour and J'ai perdu la tête to the dark-hued J'en déduis que je t'aime and Bon anniversaire. A teetotaler and a racing car enthusiast, Aznavour has been married three times and has four children.
Avec
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Avec ton regard comme empli de fièvre
Tu sembles sortie des mains d’un orfèvre
Et je ne peux que t’aimer mon amour
Avec dans ton cœur des points vulnérables
Avec les fureurs dont tu es capable
Tu es tour à tour et l’ange et le diable
Qui vient troubler mes nuits et mes jours
Des sottises
Et prédisent notre échec
Je les ignore
Et t’adore
Plus encore
Avec
Avec tes façons de fille à la page
Avec tes curieux écarts de langage
Le peu de printemps que compte ton âge
Je voudrais bien te garder toujours
Avec dans ta tête un grain de folie
Avec dans ton corps le goût de la vie
J’ai trouvé en toi toute une harmonie
Et je ne peux que t’aimer mon amour
Avec ta pudeur mêlée d’indécence
Avec ta candeur frôlant l’inconscience
Ta maturité si près de l’enfance
Je voudrais bien te garder toujours
Avec tes chagrins
Tes éclats de voix
Ton rire enfantin
Ta manière à toi
De parler soudain
De n’importe quoi
Et qui vont si bien
Avec toi
Charles Aznavour's song "Avec" talks about the complexity of love and how it can be filled with contradictions. The first verse describes the persona's lover as a work of art: perfect, flawlessly crafted, and impossible not to love. However, the second verse talks about the lover's flaws and imperfections, which makes her both an angel and a devil, adding depth to the relationship. The chorus dismisses people who believe in their failure and reaffirms the singer's love for her, despite her quirks and inconsistencies. In the third verse, the persona acknowledges his lover's youthful spirit but also her sense of maturity, which makes him want to keep her forever. The last verse mentions her emotions, how she can express herself loudly or childishly, and how it's all part of her, fitting with her personality.
The song portrays love as a complex and multilayered emotion that can include both perfection and flaws, and that's what makes it so unique. It also emphasizes being authentic, accepting one's partner's quirks, and ignoring societal opinions. Overall, "Avec" is a timeless representation of what love truly means.
Line by Line Meaning
Avec ton sourire au coin de tes lèvres
With your smile always present on your lips
Avec ton regard comme empli de fièvre
With your gaze full of passion
Tu sembles sortie des mains d’un orfèvre
You seem to have been crafted by a masterful artist
Et je ne peux que t’aimer mon amour
And I can't help but love you, my love
Avec dans ton cœur des points vulnérables
With vulnerabilities in your heart
Avec les fureurs dont tu es capable
With your capacity for anger
Tu es tour à tour et l’ange et le diable
You are both an angel and a devil at times
Qui vient troubler mes nuits et mes jours
Who comes to disturb my nights and days
Ceux qui disent
Those who say
Des sottises
Foolish things
Et prédisent notre échec
And predict our failure
Je les ignore
I ignore them
Et t’adore
And adore you
Plus encore
Even more
Avec
With
Avec tes façons de fille à la page
With your trendy ways
Avec tes curieux écarts de langage
With your strange speech patterns
Le peu de printemps que compte ton âge
The youthfulness of your age
Je voudrais bien te garder toujours
I would love to keep you always
Avec dans ta tête un grain de folie
With a touch of madness in your mind
Avec dans ton corps le goût de la vie
With a love for life in your body
J’ai trouvé en toi toute une harmonie
I have found harmony in you
Avec ta pudeur mêlée d’indécence
With your modesty mixed with indecency
Avec ta candeur frôlant l’inconscience
With your innocence bordering on recklessness
Ta maturité si près de l’enfance
Your maturity so close to childhood
Je voudrais bien te garder toujours
I would love to keep you always
Avec tes chagrins
With your sorrows
Tes éclats de voix
Your outbursts
Ton rire enfantin
Your childlike laughter
Ta manière à toi
Your unique way
De parler soudain
Of suddenly speaking
De n’importe quoi
About anything
Et qui vont si bien
And that fit you so well
Avec toi
With you
Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Charles AZNAVOUR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
joao batista
com um sorriso eterno em teus lábios
com um olhar que fala de amores
parece mais uma obra, do mais perfeito ourives
te quero a ti, só a ti meu amor
com teu coração que e tão vulnerável
com todo o furor que as vezes te assalta
não sei se tu es anjo ou diabo
mais meu viver ha mudado em ti
tem os que dizem e predizem, que devemos fracassar
eu os ignoro e te adoro, todavia ainda mais
com suas maneiras de nova onda
com a forma estranha de usar teu idioma
com a juventude que tu tens em tua vida
eu gostaria de te proteger meu amor
com teus pensamento em minhas loucuras
com teu grande amor das gosto a vida
eu encontro em ti toda minha harmonia
e te amarei sempre a ti meu amor
com este teu pudor que é quase uma inocencia
com esta candura de tua inconciencia
com tua madurez tão junto a infancia
eu gostaria de te proteger meu amor
com tua fina pele
com tua ruidosa voz
teu infantil sorriso
teu ser pessoal
de se por a falar, não importa o que
tu faz que
viva para tiiiiii
tãprofunda poesia cantada por Aznavour, que me permiti traduzi-la com um imenso sentimento na alma: João Espicalquis
jose catunda
Dentre tantas,essa é a melhor.Será?.São tantas inesquecíveis.Não para,por favor.CONTINUA.
Amar Abidi
Merci à ma maman de m'avoir fait connaître cet artiste ❤️
joao batista
com um sorriso eterno em teus lábios
com um olhar que fala de amores
parece mais uma obra, do mais perfeito ourives
te quero a ti, só a ti meu amor
com teu coração que e tão vulnerável
com todo o furor que as vezes te assalta
não sei se tu es anjo ou diabo
mais meu viver ha mudado em ti
tem os que dizem e predizem, que devemos fracassar
eu os ignoro e te adoro, todavia ainda mais
com suas maneiras de nova onda
com a forma estranha de usar teu idioma
com a juventude que tu tens em tua vida
eu gostaria de te proteger meu amor
com teus pensamento em minhas loucuras
com teu grande amor das gosto a vida
eu encontro em ti toda minha harmonia
e te amarei sempre a ti meu amor
com este teu pudor que é quase uma inocencia
com esta candura de tua inconciencia
com tua madurez tão junto a infancia
eu gostaria de te proteger meu amor
com tua fina pele
com tua ruidosa voz
teu infantil sorriso
teu ser pessoal
de se por a falar, não importa o que
tu faz que
viva para tiiiiii
tãprofunda poesia cantada por Aznavour, que me permiti traduzi-la com um imenso sentimento na alma: João Espicalquis
JOSE LUIS PANICO
Ma chanson préférée
patrick Blanc
Des souvenirs que de souvenirs
maud basso
avec "son sourire, son regard , sa présence, et cette voix! comme je l'aime!!
Mega X
J'adore Charles Aznavour
P amelie
mon seul et unique idole depuis 60 ans ne peut pas faire autrement avec ces chansons sublime meme les anciennes
nicole gallo
Perfecto
Perle Bebek
İmmmmortel Aznavour