I thought he’d be remebered here, if only for being a guest star on The Muppet Show.
More seriously, he was probably the last of the great chanson singers that came to the fore in the '50s and '60s and that included Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Barbara, Léo Ferré, Jean Ferrat, Serge Reggiani and arguably, Serge Gainsbourg, right before rock, and English pop in general, changed the French musical landscape.
He wrote dozens of songs that are now part of the standard chanson repertoire, with La Bohème probably the best-loved one. Coincidentally, I started practicing a piano solo version of it this Summer. Bummer.
94 is nuts? It’s not particularly high for dying of “old age”.
One thing I’m finding real strange is that I’m getting more Aznavour, Aznavour, Aznavour from my Spanish streams than I’m seeing in French newspapers. Maybe his family simply isn’t as, ahem, pictoresque as that of Johnny Hallyday? He was very popular in Spain (had Spanish versions of many of his songs, including the aforementioned La Bohemia), but still, the differential is surprising.
I don’t know, it’s been all over the newspapers here in Belgium since yesterday.
Regarding the version you linked to, I don’t really understand Spanish much, but aren’t the lyrics quite different from the original thematically ? And doesn’t he have a hell of a French accent ?
I discovered his music ten or so years ago. Love his voice, love his style. Since I heard the news of his death, I’ve been listening to my favorite songs again.
What a fortunate individual, to live to 94 and still be able to engage in meaningful work, to perform even with failing hearing, even relying on a teleprompter to remind him of the words to his songs. Someone sent me a video of one of his last performances. He still had that compelling stage presence, his voice was still as expressive as ever, with a tremor here and there but still beautiful.
It’s not particularly high for dying of “old age”.