Aznavour would turn 97 today  

Today marks the birthday of Charles Aznavour, the prominent French-Armenian singer, songwriter, lyricist, actor and public figure.

The legendary crooner would turn 97 if alive.

Born in Paris into a family of Armenian immigrants, Aznavour chose singing art as his lifetime career after meeting with actor Pierre Roche in 1944.

His first concert at the Paris Olympia Hall in 1955 marked an important milestone, making headlines in the French media.

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. 

An author of more than 1,000 songs (Maman, Hier Encore, La Bohème, Two Guitars, As They Say, etc. ), Aznavour also had a talent in acting. He starred in such movies as Head Against the Wall (Georges Franju , 1958) Shoot the Piano Player, (Tirez sur le pianiste,  François Truffaut'1960) , Ararat (Atom Egoyan, 2002), etc.

As many as one hundred million CDs released by the singer have been sold to date. In 1999, Time magazine named Aznavour entertainer of the century.

Aznavour's contribution to Armenia was invaluable after the devastating earthquake of Spitak. In 1988, he founded the charity foundation "Aznavour for Armenia" to offer to assist the disaster-affected country and its people. Years later, in 2017, the singer launched the Aznavour foundation with his son, Nicolas, to continue a variety of socio-cultural projects.

In his lifetime, Aznavour also served as a goodwill diplomat, representing Armenia in international organizations. Under a presidential decree in 2009, he was appointed Armenia's permanent representative to the UN Headquarters in Geneva and several other international agencies. On May 5, 2009 he was also appointed the Armenian Ambassador to Switzerland.

The great singer died in Mouriès, France on October 1, 2018.