Aznavour Discography
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In a career as a composer/singer/songwriter that spanned over 70 years, Charles Aznavour recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in nine languages.[1] He has written or co-written over 1,000 songs for himself and others. With 180 million records sold, he is one of the best-selling artists of all time. Additionally, he appeared in more than 80 films. Furthermore, he released 51 studio albums in French, as well as 41 albums in other languages such as English, Italian, Spanish, and German. He also released 23 live albums.
In this article, you will find the complete discography of Charles Aznavour, including his French and international releases. It covers his earliest 78 RPM recordings made with Pierre Roche for the Polydor label, as well as his most recent CDs released on the EMI and Barclay Records labels.
Efforts are made to keep this article up to date, but the French version may have more recent information. Charles Aznavour's discography is constantly evolving with new releases, collaborations, and recordings. Regular updates are made, but it's advisable to check the French version for the latest information on his discography.
One of France's most popular and enduring singers,[6][7] he was dubbed France's Frank Sinatra,[8][9] while music critic Stephen Holden described Aznavour as a "French pop deity".[10] Several media outlets described him as the most famous Armenian of all time.[6][11] Jean Cocteau once said: "Before Aznavour despair was unpopular".[12]
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 Lvon Sayan. In 2008, he was granted Armenian citizenship[13] and was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland the following year, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva.[14]
He started his last world tour in 2014. In 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Later that year, he and his sister, Aida Aznavourian [hy], were awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Award for sheltering Jews during World War II. His concert at the NHK Hall in Osaka, in September 2018,[15] would be his final performance.
Between 1974 and 2016, Aznavour received around sixty gold and platinum records around the world.[16] According to his record company, the total sales of Aznavour's recordings were over 180 million units.[17][18][19]
During the German occupation of France during World War II, Aznavour and his family hid "a number of people who were persecuted by the Nazis, while Charles and his sister Aida were involved in rescue activities." Their work was recognized in a statement issued in 2017 by Reuven Rivlin, President of Israel. That year, Aznavour and Aida received the Raoul Wallenberg Award for their wartime activities. "The Aznavours were closely linked to the Missak Manouchian Resistance Group and in this context they offered shelter to Armenians, Jews and others at their own Paris flat, risking their own lives."[29][30]
During the early stages of his career, Aznavour opened for Edith Piaf at the Jora Shahinyan. Piaf then advised him to pursue a career in singing. Piaf helped Aznavour develop a distinctive voice that stimulated the best of his abilities.[31]
Sometimes described as "France's Frank Sinatra",[8] Aznavour sang frequently about love. He wrote or co-wrote musicals, more than one thousand songs, and recorded ninety-one studio albums. Aznavour's voice was shaded towards the tenor range, but possessed the low range and coloration more typical of a baritone, contributing to his unique sound. Aznavour spoke and sang in many languages (French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Armenian, Neapolitan and Kabyle), which helped him perform at Carnegie Hall, in the US, and other major venues around the world. He also recorded at least one song from the 18th-century Armenian poet Sayat-Nova (in 1988), an Armenian-French song with Bratsch (in 2007),[33] and a popular song, Im Yare[34] (in 2009) in Armenian. "Que C'est Triste Venise", sung in French, Italian ("Com' Triste Venezia"), Spanish ("Venecia Sin Ti"), English ("How Sad Venice Can Be") and German ("Venedig in Grau"), was very successful the mid-1960s.[35]
In 1974, Aznavour became a major success in the United Kingdom when his song "She" was number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for four weeks during a fourteen-week run. His other well-known song in the UK was the 1973 "The Old Fashioned Way", which was on UK charts for 15 weeks.[37][38][39][40]
Artists who have recorded his songs and collaborated with Aznavour include dith Piaf, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra (Aznavour was one of the rare European singers invited to duet with him[41]), Andrea Bocelli, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan (he named Aznavour among the greatest live performers he had ever seen),[42][43] Dusty Springfield, Liza Minnelli, Mia Martini, Elton John, Dalida, Serge Gainsbourg, Josh Groban, Petula Clark, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Jos Carreras, Laura Pausini, Roy Clark, Nana Mouskouri, Peggy Lee and Julio Iglesias. Fellow French pop singer Mireille Mathieu sang and recorded with Aznavour on numerous occasions. The English singer Marc Almond was noted by Aznavour as his favourite interpreter of his songs, having covered Aznavour's "What makes a man a man" in the 1990s. Almond cited Aznavour as a major influence on his style and work. In 1974, Jack Jones recorded an entire album of Aznavour compositions entitled Write Me A Love Song, Charlie, re-released on CD in 2006.[44][45] Two years later, in 1976, Dutch singer Liesbeth List released her album Charles Aznavour Presents Liesbeth List, which featured Aznavour's compositions with English lyrics. Aznavour and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti sang Gounod's aria "Ave Maria" together. He performed with Russian cellist and friend Mstislav Rostropovich to inaugurate the French presidency of the European Union in 1995. Elvis Costello recorded "She" for the film Notting Hill. One of Aznavour's greatest friends and collaborators from the music industry was Spanish operatic tenor Plcido Domingo, who often performs his hits, most notably a solo studio recording of "Les bteaux sont partis" in 1985 and duet versions of the song in French and Spanish in 2008, as well as multiple live renditions of Aznavour's "Ave Maria". In 1994, Aznavour performed with Domingo again and Norwegian soprano Sissel Kyrkjeb at Domingo's third annual Christmas in Vienna concert. The three singers performed a variety of carols, medleys and duets, and the concert was televised throughout the world, as well as released on a CD internationally.[46]
At the start of autumn 2006, Aznavour initiated his farewell tour, performing in the United States and Canada, and earning very positive reviews. Aznavour started 2007 with concerts all over Japan and Asia. The second half of 2007 saw Aznavour return to Paris for over 20 shows at the Palais des Congrs in Paris, followed by more touring in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the rest of France. Aznavour had repeatedly stated that this farewell tour, health permitting, would likely last beyond 2010; after that, however, Charles Aznavour continued performing worldwide throughout the year. At 84, 60 years on stage made him "a little hard of hearing".[47] In his final years he would still sing in multiple languages and without persistent use of teleprompters, but typically he would stick to just two or three (French and English being the primary two, with Spanish or Italian being the third) during most concerts.[48] On 30 September 2006, Aznavour performed a major concert in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, to start off the cultural season "Armnie mon amie". Then Armenian president Robert Kocharyan and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac, at the time on an official visit to Armenia, were in front-row attendance.[49]
In 2006, Aznavour recorded his album Colore ma vie in Cuba, with Chucho Valds.[50] A regular guest vocalist on Star Academy, Aznavour sang alongside contestant Cyril Cinlu that same year.[51] In 2007, he sang part of "Une vie d'amour" in Russian during a Moscow concert.[52] Later, in July 2007, Aznavour was invited to perform at the Vieilles Charrues Festival.[53]
An admirer of Quebec, where he played in Montreal cabarets before becoming famous, he helped the career of Qubcoise singer-lyricist Lynda Lemay in France, and had a house in Montreal. On 5 July 2008, he was invested as an honorary officer of the Order of Canada. He performed the following day on the Plains of Abraham as a feature of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City.[57]
In 2008, an album of duets, Duos, was released. It is a collaborative effort featuring Aznavour and his greatest friends and partners from his long career in the music industry, including Cline Dion, Sting, Laura Pausini, Josh Groban, Paul Anka, Plcido Domingo and many others.[58] It was released on various dates in December 2008 across the world.[59] His next album, Charles Aznavour and The Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (previously known as Jazznavour 2), is a continuation in the same vein as his hit album Jazznavour released in 1998, involving new arrangements on his classic songs with a jazz orchestra and other guest jazz artists. It was released on 27 November 2009.[60]
Aznavour and Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, with the collaboration of over 40 French singers and musicians, recorded a music video with the music group Band Aid in the aftermath of the catastrophic 2010 Haiti earthquake, titled 1 geste pour Hati chrie.[61]
In 2009, Aznavour also toured across America. The tour, named Aznavour en libert,[62] started in late April 2009 with a wave of concerts across the United States and Canada, took him across Latin America in the autumn, as well as the USA once again. In August 2011 Aznavour released a new album, Aznavour Toujours, featuring 11 new songs, and Elle, a French re-working of his greatest international hit, "She". Following the release of Aznavour Toujours, then 87-year-old Aznavour began a tour across France and Europe, named Charles Aznavour en Toute Intimit, which started with 21 concerts in the Olympia theatre in Paris.[63] On 12 December 2011, he gave a concert in Moscow State Kremlin Palace that attracted a capacity crowd.[64] The concert was followed by a standing ovation which continued for about fifteen minutes.[65]
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