French legend Charles Aznavour has died at the age of 94 at one of his homes in the south east of France, a spokesman has confirmed.
The iconic singer and songwriter had a career lasting more than 80 years.
Charles Aznavour, born to Armenian immigrants, sold more than 180 million records and featured in over 60 films.
He was best known for his 1974 hit She and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017. Charles Aznavour married three times and had six children.
Charles Aznavour was named entertainer of the century by CNN in 1998.
He was born in Paris in 1924 to Armenian parents who fled the country’s genocide to begin a new life in the French capital.
Charles Aznavour’s lyrics drew on his own experiences of growing up in deprivation as an immigrant.
He was due to take on a seven-date tour across France and Switzerland, starting in November this year.
The singer had recently returned from a tour in Japan, having been forced to cancel concerts this summer due to a broken arm.
Charles Aznavour recorded more than 1,200 songs in seven different languages and performed in 94 countries.
His song She was famously performed by Elvis Costello in the opening credits of Richard Curtis’ movie Notting Hill.
Dubbed France’s Frank Sinatra, Charles Aznavour wrote his own songs on taboo subjects about marriage, gay and male expression of emotions.
His 1973 hit, What Makes a Man, was about a gay transvestite.
Still performing to packed stadiums well into his 90s, Charles Aznavour continued to write songs about his life, including his Swedish wife to celebrate 50 years of marriage.
As well as a singer, Charles Aznavour was a successful actor and played the lead in the 1960 film Shoot the Piano Player.
Charles Aznavour also appeared in the Oscar-winning The Tin Drum, playing a kindly Jewish toy seller.
He sang for presidents, popes and royal families and at a number of humanitarian events.
President Emmanuel Macron was a big fan of Charles Aznavour and sang many of his songs during karaoke nights with friends when he was a student, according to former classmates.
Charles Aznavour was heavily involved in charity work and founded an organization after the 1988 Armenian earthquake with friend Levon Sayan.
In 2009, Charles Aznavour was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland and he also became Armenia’s delegate to the UN in Geneva.
French singer France Gall has died at the age of 70.
The singer, who rose to fame in the 1960’s, was suffering from cancer for two years.
France Gall was taken to hospital near Paris last month for a severe infection.
She won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965 representing Luxembourg with the song Wax Doll, Rag Doll (Poupée de cire, Poupée de son).
France Gall enjoyed more international success in 1987 with her tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Ella, Elle l’a.
The singer was born in October 1947 into a musical family – her father was singer and songwriter Robert Gall, who penned songs for music legends Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour, among others.
France Gall was known for her childish smile and sweet voice and, in the words of Le Figaro website, “embodied the emancipation of French girls in the post-war era”. Her career spanned 50 years and Culture Minister Françoise Nyssen described her as “a timeless icon of French song”.
She was just 16 when her first single, Don’t Be So Stupid (Ne Sois Pas Si Bête), sold some 200,000 copies.
However, it was France Gall’s Eurovision victory with Poupée de cire – written by Serge Gainsbourg, one of the biggest figures in French popular music – that helped catapult her to fame and make her a star on France’s Yé-yé (yeah yeah) pop scene, so-called because of its nod to English music at the time.
France Gall’s death comes a month after the loss of another giant of French music, Johnny Hallyday – widely seen as the leader of the Yé-yé singers.
Her collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg later came under scrutiny, however, after she admitted she had been too young to fully understand the double meanings of some of his songs.
One of France Gall’s biggest hits was Les Sucettes (Lollipops), which tells the story of a girl who is “in paradise” every time “that little stick is on her tongue”.
Once she realized its full meaning, France Gall refused to perform the song and vowed never to work with Serge Gainsbourg again.
Her 1987 album Babacar, which included her tribute to jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald, saw her shoot to international fame.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted about France Gall’s death: “She leaves behind songs that everyone in France knows and set an example of a life devoted to others.”
France Gall had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer in the mid-1990s, not long after the death of her husband and fellow singer Michel Berger at the age of 44 in 1992. He had written the music and lyrics for her Babacar album.
She retired from her music career following the death of the eldest of her two children, Pauline, from cystic fibrosis in 1997.
France Gall spent the final years of her life working on various humanitarian projects.
French singer and composer Georges Moustaki, who wrote Edith Piaf’s 1958 hit song, Milord, has died aged 79.
Georges Moustaki, whose real name was Giuseppe Mustacchi, sang in several languages and penned in the region of 300 songs.
Born in Egypt on 3 May 1934, he changed his name in honor of his idol, the French singer Georges Brassens, after he moved to Paris in 1951.
French singer and composer Georges Moustaki, who wrote Edith Piaf’s 1958 hit song, Milord, has died aged 79
Among the French stars who sang Georges Moustaki’s compositions were Yves Montand, Juliette Greco and Pia Colomba.
Georges Moustaki was the son of an immigrant Jewish couple from Greece who settled in Egypt.
He was known for his romantic ballads, his repertoire included songs in French, Italian, English, Greek, Portuguese, Arabic and Spanish.
The song, Milord, was a number-one hit in Germany in 1960.
Milord has been covered by various artists over the years, including Cher, appearing on her second solo album, The Sonny Side of Cher, released in 1966.
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