Legendary performer Charles Aznavour’s music has come to define the genre of French chanson. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at some of his greatest creations, from his first success with “Sur ma vie” (On my life) to his smash hit “La Bohème”.
Aznavour was propelled to fame with his 1955 song “Sur ma vie”, which would become his first No. 1 hit in France.
After a string of successes, Aznavour sought to appeal to audiences beyond France in 1963 with “For me … formidable”, a medley in French and English. That same year, he performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, a show American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan later said “blew my brains out”.
In 1965, Aznavour released what would become arguably one of the most memorable songs of his career, “La Bohème”.
He followed up two years later with the wistful, “Emmenez-moi” (Take me along).
In 1972 he released “She”, which would go on to become No. 1 on the hit parade in the United Kingdom. The song was famously used in the final sequence of the 1999 romantic comedy "Notting Hill" starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
