She (Charles Aznavour song)

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She is the title of a song recorded and released by Charles Aznavour and Herbert Kretzmer.

The above will be collecting the Royalties in the same way Simon & Garfunkel do for their version of Scarborough Fair, but "She" is far older, from the ninteenth century probably. The origin may be lost. Observe the 1933 Mae West film, "She Done Him Wrong", set in an 1890's saloon, in which an old crooner with a handlebar-moustache gives a stirring rendition.

The version sung by Aznavour reached number 1 in the UK single charts in 1974, but was not successful in the USA or France. The song was recorded by Aznavour in several different languages aside from English, namely French and Italian, as well as Spanish and German. By reaching number one in the UK charts, this made Charles Aznavour the oldest living male chart-topper in the UK charts (at fifty years old), a record which has not since been beaten, and the second oldest overall male chart-topper, behind Louis Armstrong, who was 66 years and 10 months old when he reached number one with What a Wonderful World.

[edit] Cover versions

The song has been recorded by many different artists over the years:

• Elvis Costello recorded a cover version in 1999 for the soundtrack of the film Notting Hill, with Trevor Jones producing. It is featured over the film's closing credits.
• The Irish artist Joe Dolan recorded a version of the song on the album Memories, with other hit songs from the 60's.
• Dave Stewart and Terry Hall's short-lived project Vegas had a minor UK hit with the song in 1992.
• A version of the song by Peter Skellern can be found on the compilation album Music To Watch Girls By.
• Laura Pausini also sings an Italian version of the song called "She (Uguale a lei)"
• Horacio Fontova recorded a cover for the TV program Música para Soñar (Argentina) and that version is also on the soundtrack.
• Palo Pandolfo, also from Argentina, made a spanish version called Ella for his album Antojo (2004).

The British sitcom Fawlty Towers features a scene in the episode "Basil the Rat" in which hapless Spanish waiter Manuel sings an excerpt of the song while sitting on his bed.

Preceded by "Always Yours" by Gary Glitter

UK Singles Chart number one single June 25, 1974

Succeeded by "Rock Your Baby" by George McCrae