Interview: Engelbert Humperdinck
Interview: Engelbert Humperdinck
Legendary singer discusses career, new album, and upcoming performance
“Everybody has their moment in time,” Engelbert Humperdinck said when I spoke with him recently. But his moment in time would span seven plus decades, giving us one of the most incredible voices that would paint our world in the brightest colors, build a bridge to music of all kinds, soothe our crazy days and sleepless nights… bring us so much joy when we gather together to see and listen to this remarkable talent and the gift that was bestowed on him.
Humperdinck has achieved so much during his career and he is still moving on to the next album (which is coming soon), the next project, the next concert.
The singer will be doing what he does best when he hits the stage at Seneca Niagara Casino Resort on Saturday, April 5th at 8:00pm.
Humperdinck has recorded well over 70 albums, performed a stunning amount of shows, and he has no plans to call it quits just yet. “Who‘s to say when that time will come,” said the singer,” adding, “I’m still an ambitious artist.”
Selling millions of records all over the world... the kind of songs that are timeless like “Release Me”, “After The Lovin”, “The Last Waltz” that you can sing and listen to and not have to feel out of place doing so. The singer/songwriter is still recording albums and challenges himself by finding and learning new music styles with differences that you would think are meant for today’s hit makers. “I love learning different ways to share my music and staying relevant in today’s business,” said Humperdinck.
This is the fourth time I have interviewed him, and we both agree it’s like talking to a familiar friend. We talked about the new music coming out soon, how he prepares for shows to keep them new and fresh, the “good old days”, and medical issues, which gives a clue as to how old we are.
Find out what project Humperdinck has wanted to do for a long time that may be close to fruition and what he did that made my day… well maybe my year.
We also talked about his legacy and the passing of his beloved wife, Patricia, and how everything has changed since then, as far as how differently he looks at music.
If you’ve never seen Humperdinck live, you must get your ticket to an incredible evening of song, that will put you on the list of fans from all over the world. Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at senecaniagaracasino.com. For more information on Engelbert, visit engelbert.com.
A CONVERSATION WITH ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK
HULICK: I’m thrilled to be talking with you again.
HUMPERDINCK: Yes, we’ve talked before haven’t we?
HULICK: Yes, this is our 4th time. How have you been?
HUMPERDINCK: I’m good. Right now I’m sorting my life out with my new show. Sorting through the albums and seeing which ones folks might remember. I’ve done 70 plus albums and sorting through the songs is a very difficult task.
HULICK: I can’t even imagine where you would even start.
HUMPERDINCK: What makes it easier is some of them have stood out more than the others. We keep the ones that have been prevalent over all of the years. The big ones like “The Last Waltz”, “Les Bicyclettes de Belsize” and “Man Without Love”, etc. That makes it easier, but I’ve been in this business a long time and I like to show my audience what has touched people and made me who I am today.
HULICK: I’ve seen your show many, many times over the years and there’s never one that’s the same as the others, so you do a great job presenting a different show every time you come around. You go that extra mile to make it different.
HUMPERDINCK: Well thank you, Melanie. I’ve been very lucky in the fact that I just finished recording another album which is with the type of songs I’ve never done in my life. It’s a completely new avenue I’m going down in this later part of my career. I’ve been recording with Cleopatra Records and it’s been a wonderful experience for me because it’s so different. My producer’s name is Pete Mills of The Sweet Kill, and he’s been so instrumental in teaching me their world. It’s a whole different kind of music from the way they phrase and so on. You know, I’ve never stopped learning and I think it’s been a great experience for me.
HULICK: It’s funny how these days what we thought was a normal progression isn’t considered normal anymore. The music isn’t so cut and dry as far as a particular genre; it’s just music across the board and the fans aren’t so genre driven. Everybody seems to just enjoy the music together. That’s the good thing about being around this long, because you get to see that change that you were a part of.
HUMPERDINCK: Yes, exactly, and with social media the world’s your stage and you’ve got to be ready for it. In the old days you would have a press representative to do this and do that, but today we do everything ourselves… and people know what you’re doing almost prior to you getting there because they use social media and see videos and such posted online.
HULICK: Do you have a title for the new album?
HUMPERDINCK: We don’t have a title yet. They’re still working on putting everything together and checking out what order the songs will go in, what the cover will look like, and of course, the title. I had a meeting with my record company last week actually and we were discussing all that and the fact that this is going to be different in my life. I’m always searching for different things in this late part of my career you know… I’m in the sunset of my career right now, but I’m still an ambitious artist.
HULICK: Are you going to have the new album released on vinyl and have a wonderful cover like it used to be?
HUMPERDINCK: Yes! It is! Yes!!
HULICK: That’s great!
HUMPERDINCK: The funny thing is, these days it’s not the usual black vinyl, it’s all in colors now, which is quite unusual.
HULICK: I’m glad to see it coming back. I think the music sounded so much better on vinyl.
HUMPERDINCK: Oh it certainly does… yes it does. I always love to hear my records on vinyl. It’s also something when you see a big album on the wall, something you can look at. You can’t really see much on a CD. I enjoyed the old world… I really did and I’m glad it’s coming back, too.
HULICK: Remember how the artists would thank people and sometimes you would have interesting facts written somewhere?
HUMPERDINCK: Yes, and there was room to put it all.
HULICK: Right. And you didn’t need a magnifying glass to read it. (laughs)
HUMPERDINCK: (laughs) If you want to buy a record these days, you push a little button and you have it on your phone… but I like the old fashioned way.
HULICK: Yes. I’ve never done it that way. I’ve always got the vinyl or CD. I think it takes away from the music experience and in a way the craft of the artist.
HUMPERDINCK: Yes, I know. I’ll be honest with you… I’ve never done it that way either because I really don’t know how to do it. (laughs) I know how to do a lot of things on my phone, but that’s not one of them.
HULICK: Do you have any projects you’re working on?
HUMPERDINCK: You know I write poetry because we’ve talked about that through the years. What I’m going to do, and I’ve been trying to do it for years and years, is to make an album of the poems I’ve written and as I narrate them with some music in the background. People know my singing voice and I’d like them to hear how I deliver written words.
HULICK: That’s brilliant! Seriously. You have a speaking voice that is so soothing and your poetry has always been a big part of you. The first time I interviewed you I asked if I could put a poem you wrote in the article as a special box within the article. The poem was called To You and it was inside an album cover of yours.
HUMPERDINCK: Oh, that’s right! That was wonderful what you did.
HULICK: This is exciting. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with.
HUMPERDINCK: Would you like to hear another poem I wrote?
HULICK: Are you kidding me? I would love to hear it. How lucky am I?
HUMPERDINCK: It’s called A Little Boy’s Dream. (He reads me the poem)
HULICK: Oh my gosh, that is so beautiful Engelbert. You really need to make that album.
HUMPERDINCK: Thank you. Yes… it’s something I really want to do.
HULICK: Do you have a favorite decade of your career?
HUMPERDINCK: Let’s see… it’s got to be the first decade. There’s a song I recorded called “This Moment In Time” that has been so meaningful to my career. Of course everybody has moments in time and that was my moment. Decca Records presented me with a gift of a trophy that said... you have sold 124 million albums from 1967 to 1974. That was a very big part of my life. My life was so busy during those first decades. I was doing 300 shows a year and that didn’t leave me time to savor my family. I would talk to them on the phone when I was away. You know my wife did a wonderful job of raising the children while I was gone so much, God bless her soul. She was a massive rock in my life… she was always behind me.
HULICK: I want to tell you how sorry I was when I heard of your wife’s passing. I know you loved her very much.
HUMPERDINCK: Thank you. I want to tell you that this loss in my life has totally changed my way of thinking and the way I write and the way I portray a song. I read the lyrics a lot differently than I did before. Much more goes into it now.
HULICK: What do you want your legacy to be?
HUMPERDINCK: It has to be the music. That’s why I still record and continue to be involved in music. It’s always been about the music.