Engelbert Humperdinck Still Singing at Age 73
British Entertainer Demonstrates Strong Voice in Tour, New Albums
Jul 26, 2009
Since his rise in the 1960s, Engelbert Humperdinck has sold more than 150 million records, including 24 platinum and 64 gold records and he is still producing albums and selling tickets.
In the last half of 2009, at age 73, he had 32 concerts scheduled, from the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi to the London Palladium, the Grand Rex Theater in Paris, the Stadhalle in Vienna and the Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
American concert tickets on sale range up to $200 at Tickets Now.
At the Beau Rivage concert, he mixed his still-strong voice with humor, nostalgia, a good six-piece band, two attractive background singers, some promotion of his newest albums, a few singalongs, some schmoozing with females in the audience and a stage stunt with one of them. It was about 105 minutes of show biz that drew heavy applause (even a few screams) from the 50-to-80-something audience.
"Please Release Me"
Humperdinck’s success began with "Please Release Me" in 1966 and was quickly followed by:
- The "Last Waltz" in 1967
- "A Man Without Love in 1968"
- "Am I That Easy to Forget" ("Quando M’Innamoro") in 1968
In 1976 he hit it big again with "After the Lovin," which is still a favorite on his tour.
"A Legacy of Love"
In his concerts, he proudly promotes his three latest CDs:
- "A Legacy of Love," which includes old favorites and two songs he recorded for the first time, "Over the Rainbow" and "My Way," the reminiscent piece that Frank Sinitra made famous.
- "Endlessly," which was composed by Paul Anka and David Foster. He now sings the title song, "Endlessly," in his concerts.
- "A Taste of Country," which was scheduled for release in the fall of 2009, features songs from Humpledinck’s early career.
Born in Madras, India
Humperdinck was born in Madras, India in 1936. According to his website, he was the youngest of 10 children born to British army officer Mervyn Dorsey and his wife, Olive. His family moved back to England when he was 10 years old.
His parents named him Arnold George Dorsey. As he moved into show business, he changed first to Gerry Dorsey, then later to Engelbert Humperdinck, after the German composer who wrote the music for Hansel and Gretel.
His first musical interest was the saxophone and his first ambition was to be a bandleader. The sax is the only wind instrument in his current band.
Charlie Chaplin and "Smile"
Humperdinck now splits his homes between England and Los Angeles, but he never loses his British pride, raving about the great entertainers England has produced, including Sir Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was the great comedian of the silent films, but Humperdinck reminds his audience that Chaplin also wrote music like the classic "Smile" in 1936. John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added lyrics in 1954.
As a moving tribute to Chaplin, Humperdinck sings "Smile" without accompanying music.
The singer jokes about his age, without ever saying how old he is. He does boast of his four decades of marriage, his four grown children and first grandchild. He acknowledges that critics were beginning to talk about him getting "a little paunchy," so he took off 33 pounds. He told Jerry Fink of the Los Vegas Sun in June 2009 that he had hired a personal trainer and reduced his waistline from 43 to 34 inches.
"I think I came from good genes. My skin hasn’t changed. I haven’t been under the knife," he told Fink.
His website lists 20 charities he has supported and a dozen civic and professional awards he has been presented.
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