A Living Legend: An Interview with Engelbert Humperdinck

It’s not everyday you meet a living legend.  And Engelbert Humperdinck isn’t your average living legend.

In an incredible career that has spanned 60 years, Engelbert Humperdinck has sold over 150 million records worldwide, with songs ranging from romantic ballads to movie theme songs, disco, rock, and gospel. These records have earned him 64 gold albums, 35 platinum albums, four Grammy Award nominations, a Golden Globe, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Among Engelbert’s hit songs are “The Last Waltz,” “A Man Without Love,” “Quando, Quando, Quando,” “Ten Guitars,” “After the Lovin’,” and 1967’s “Release Me,” which dominated the music charts for 56 weeks, beating out the Beatles’ “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields” for the number one position on the charts, and depriving the Beatles of their 13th consecutive No.1. 

At 89 years old, Engelbert still performs around the world.  Just last year, he sang to sold out houses in the United States, Australia, South Africa, Azerbaijan, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  This year, Engelbert continues his Last Waltz Tour with concerts across the US, the UK, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Before heading out for performances in Las Vegas and the commencement of his concert tour of England, Engelbert sat down with me at one of his favorite Los Angeles restaurants, Rita’s Gate of India, for lunch and an interview.  

Engelbert Humperdinck Interview

Still tall and handsome, with his trademark sideburns that even Elvis tried to emulate, Engelbert’s life is among the most fascinating and inspiring of the great performers.  It’s the story of a boy born to a large English family in Madras, India, whose show business aspirations were fed in his native England with saxophone lessons he could barely afford.  (And which Engelbert himself paid for with the four shillings a week he made on his paper route.)  It wasn’t until his teens that Engelbert, quite literally, found his voice, discovering that his true talent was in singing.  After a decade of struggle — performing in working men’s clubs and other live venues; landing a few choice spots on television; and recovering from tuberculosis, an illness that backtracked nearly all his career progress — Engelbert Humperdinck became an international sensation with 1967’s “Release Me.”  (By his side through it all was the love of his life, Engelbert’s one and only wife, Patricia Healey.  They remained together until Patricia’s passing in 2021.)

“That’s destiny.  Destiny puts little things your way and if you don’t grasp it, you lose it.  But I grasped it, I got hold of it,”

Engelbert shared with me during our conversation.  Destiny certainly seems to have played its role in the remarkable career Engelbert continues to enjoy today.  Indeed, after six decades in show business, Engelbert evokes the same devotion from fans that he has since the early years of his career, when traveling with 150 stage shirts was necessary due to fervent lady fans who would tear the clothes right off his back.

I witnessed this ardent fan devotion first hand this summer, when my husband and I attended Engelbert’s concert at the Saban Theatre.  Fans, decked out in their Humperdinck T-shirts, swooned when Engelbert stepped on stage, and kept swooning for the rest of the show.  They all knew exactly when to rush the front of the stage, hoping to catch one of the coveted handkerchiefs that Engelbert would toss out to the crowd. 

A Timeless Performer

When I asked Engelbert about this spellbinding effect he has on audiences, his response was refreshingly modest.

“I’ve never tried to analyze that adoration.  Because if you start doing that, you lose something.  I’ve left it alone and let it happen…It’s an act between my followers and me; It’s not just me.”

While my generation was after the years when Engelbert’s music was playing everywhere you turned, it wasn’t hard for his music to find me.  I remember hearing “The Last Waltz” and “Release Me” on the radio for the first time during my high school years.  Engelbert made the notes sound effortlessly smooth, and I could feel the immense power and emotion behind the words he sang. It’s been a privilege to introduce Engelbert’s music to yet another generation of fans, in the form of both my daughter and my dance students.  Their enjoyment and appreciation of each Engelbert song I play underscores the inherit timelessness of his voice and music.

Engelbert Humperdinck Interview

At the close of our interview, Engelbert shared a few unforgettable words of wisdom:

“Live for the moment but prepare for tomorrow’s moment, in case it comes.”

While most of us won’t be touring the world and performing to sold out houses at age 89, these are words to live by, spoken by a man who is his own advice personified.  May Engelbert’s tomorrows keep coming, for the world is a more beautiful and romantic place because of this living legend and his music.

Listen to Episode 91 of Vanguard of Hollywood for my interview with Engelbert Humperdinck.

And for information and tickets to Engelbert’s upcoming concerts around the world, go to engelbert.com or visit Engelbert’s YouTube channel and social media profiles.