Engelbert Humperdinck is back in town.
Born Arnold George Dorsey, the legendary singer known for his velvety baritone vocals and signature songs like “Release Me,” “The Last Waltz,” and “After The Lovin’,” has been frequently performing in the Philippines especially in recent years.
This year, the 81-year-old balladeer is in the country for a series of shows as part of his 50th Anniversary Tour. Shows include a well-received concert at LausGroup Event Centre in Pampanga last November 23, a November 28 date at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. This will be followed by his November 30 stop at Alonte Arena in Biñan, Laguna and a concluding show in Iloilo on December 2.
With over 150 million records sold worldwide, Humperdinck is easily one of the most recognizable voices on the planet. And while he is best known for his classic hits, he continues to record new material to this day. His latest album, “The Man I Want to Be,” is dedicated to his wife of 53 years, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Released only last Friday, November 24, “The Man I Want to Be” contains covers of recent hits like Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are,” and Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph.”
No stranger to keeping himself in step with contemporary artists, Humperdinck has over the years collaborated with the members of the Bee Gees (“Sweetheart”), disco singer Gloria Gaynor, Eurodance German musician Dieter Bohlen of the group Modern Talking (“You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul”) and even British rocker Nick Lowe whose song “You Inspire Me” he recorded in 2005.
Just three years ago, Humperdinck released an album of duets called “Engelbert Calling” which featured new duet recordings of “Release Me” (with Wynonna Judd) and “After The Lovin’” (with Beverley Knight) as well as renditions of Kenny Rogers’ “She Believes in Me,” Elton John’s “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” and Charles Aznavour’s “She” which he performed with the original artists themselves.
Other artists who sang with Humperdinck in the album that took years to complete include Dionne Warwick, Cliff Richard, Neil Sedaka, Johnny Mathis, Olivia Newton-John, Willie Nelson, Andrea Corr, Gene Simmons of the glam-rock group, Kiss and the classical crossover group, Il Divo and his own son, Bradley Dorsey.
But even as he enjoys talking about his recent success, he is equally fond of his greatest achievement — his signature song, “Release Me.”
Originally written in 1949, the song went all the way to number one in the UK singles chart and stayed there for six weeks, ultimately becoming the bestselling single of that year.
“It was the song that prevented The Beatles from reaching number one,” quipped the singer in a previous interview with InterAksyon. Humperdinck added that because his song was number one, the Fab Four’s double-sided single of “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” only peaked at number two in the UK chart.
The success of “Release Me,” however, was no fluke as Humperdinck went on to score more big hits in the UK including “The Last Waltz” which also hit number one, “There Goes My Everything,” “Am I That Easy to Forget,” “A Man Without Love,” “The Way It Used to Be,” “Winter World of Love.” In 1977, he scored another worldwide hit with the silky-smooth ballad, “After The Lovin’.”
Filipino fans can look forward to these classics and many of the man’s other hits as part of his set list for his 50th Anniversary Tour, which is presented by Ovation Productions.
Tickets are available at SM tickets and TicketNet outlets.