Story & Photographs by Diane Fleischman
It was an early show time Sunday night at The Sands Event Center, as Englebert Humperdinck took the stage and celebrated his 50th year anniversary tour. At a glance, it’s hard to phantom this lifetime success story in the entertainment world of a beloved crooner.
In his career, he has sold over 140 million records, which includes 64 gold albums, and 23 platinum, several Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe award, and ironically back in the day secured the number one spot on the British Charts with “Release Me”, which kept The Beatles’ single “Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever” out of the top spot.
Humperdinck is not one to rest on his laurels, as he announced a new album out in November this year. Keeping in step with today’s contemporary artists, he has included a Bruno Mars song, “Just the Way You Are”, on this release.
For a performer who admits he doesn’t run scales before a performance, his voice sounded incredibly smooth and rich onstage, and very well intact over the years. His song selection included many cover songs, as he opened with “Crazy” (Willie Nelson), followed by “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” (Jim Weatherly), and included “Quando, Quando, Quando” (Tony Renis), “Welcome to My World” (Jim Reeves), “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Simon and Garfunkel), and “On Broadway” (The Drifters) the audience heartily clapped along.
It was an emotional high as he performed “The Last Waltz” with an accompanying video that started as a slideshow of the early years of Humperdinck and his wife and family, and his nine year old granddaughter who projected amazing vocal power as she sang along as a duet. The song was so moving, Humperdinck ran the video again and repeated the song.
From his new album he performed “I Followed My Heart”, and closed the show with “Release Me”. At 81 years old, Humperdinck remains a sex symbol as many female fans rushed the stage. He’s still got it and his worldwide fans are certainly grateful.
