Engelbert Humperdinck

The smooth-voiced ballad singer Engelbert Humperdinck was born Arnold George Dorsey on May 2, 1936, in Madras, India. Raised in Leicester, England (one of ten kids), he started playing saxophone when he was eleven. He claims his singing career was an accident. "I went to a small club in Leister and everyone was getting up and singing. So I got up on stage and sang a ballad — and I got a standing ovation!" Thus encouraged, he went on to then launch a career as a dance-band singer under the name Gerry Dorsey. This was in the middle 1950s. For ten years he struggled for success, but his one single, "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" went nowhere. He toured with Marty Wilde and even appeared on the U.K. TV series Oh Boy. During this time, Dorsey contracted tuberculosis. He hit bottom around 1963.

Then in 1966, Dorsey contacted his former roommate, Gordon Mills. Mills, formerly a singer in the skiffle group Viscounts, had moved on to songwriting (producing top hits for groups like Johnny Kidd and the Pirates) and then to artist management of matinée-idol singers of the likes of Tom Jones.

Mills decided to re-invent Dorsey, gave him the name of the 19th-century classical German opera composer (Hansel and Gretel), and introduced him to the world as the enigmatic balladeer Engelbert Humperdinck. To maintain his mysterious image, he always disappeared after every show — never meeting his fans. This often involved climbing out of bathroom windows and the like. Armed with his new name, a vivid stage presence, rugged good looks, smooth style, and three-and-a-half octave singing range, Humperdinck broke into full stardom in 1967 with his version of the country song "Release Me." This was followed by "There Goes My Everything" and "The Last Waltz." He remained in the charts until the early '70s and was often the biggest selling artist in the U.K. Country music offered Humperdinck a smorgasbord of material for his silky voice. He had many songs in the "Hot 100" and his albums charted time and again in both the U.K. and U.S.

He had another huge hit, "After the Lovin'," in 1976 but, for the most part, he has toured the cabaret circuit for the last 27 years. He did a successful album with Gloria Gaynor, Remember I Love You in 1987. He has earned many different awards (Golden Globe, etc.) including some 59 Gold records, 17 Platinum albums, and various Grammy Awards. His can't-buy-these-in-stores compilations are among the favorites of late-night two-minute TV advertisers.

Humperdinck presides over the largest fan club in the world with 250 chapters and some eight million members. Still on the road, he travels with an 18-member group and has added impersonations and comedy skits to his act over the years (imitations of Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, and his arch-rival, Julio Iglesias), somewhat obscuring his impact as a singer. Still, when he is not goofing around on stage, Humperdinck can sing a ballad like few others. His dynamic range, heartfelt understanding of lyrics, and clarity of exposition make him one of the great ballad singers. He states "There's always going to be a market for romance and, as long as people come and see me, I'll be there." — Michael Erlewine (allmusicguide.com)