Armenian-French singer/songwriters Charles Aznavour is celebrating his 88th birthday today, May 22.

During his career, Aznavour has written nearly 1,000 songs. His songs have been recorded by an astonishing array of performers such as Andrea Bocelli, Bob Dylan, Liza Minnelli, Sting and Elvis Costello.

Besides, he starred in 60 films and sold around 100mln discs. According to a joint poll conducted by TIME and CNN (1998), Aznavour is recognized as the best pop singer of the 20th century. Since May 5, 2009, Aznavour has been Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland and permanent representatives to the UN headquarters.

Recently the concerts of the legendary singer in U.S. and Canada were cancelled for health reasons.

In an interview with AFP, the singer openly complained about his physical condition.

“Physically, I’m not the man I was,” Aznavour said. “I have fatigue that I did not used to get. I moved around, often I danced on stage, I cannot do it anymore.”

However, the chansonnier recently completed a musical and still claims to be working “a lot.”