During his early career, Aznavour often opened for Edith Piaf at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Advised by Piaf, Aznavour decided to pursue a solo singing career in 1950, despite his reservations about his voice, which he characterised as “a little frog.
” With Piafs help, he developed an idiosyncratic style in which the throaty quality of his voice was used to its best advantage. Piaf also encouraged Aznavour to continue as a composer and used some of his songs...