Engelbert Humperdinck

Arnold George Dorsey MBE (born 2 May 1936), known professionally as Engelbert Humperdinck, is a British pop singer who has been described as "one of the finest middle-of-the-road balladeers around". He achieved international prominence in 1967 with his recording of "Release Me". Starting as a performer in the late 1950s under the name "Gerry Dorsey", he later adopted the name of German composer Engelbert Humperdinck as a stage name and found success after he partnered with manager Gordon Mills in 1965.

His recordings of the ballads "Release Me" and "The Last Waltz" both topped the UK Singles Chart in 1967, selling more than a million copies each. Humperdinck scored further major hits in rapid succession, including "There Goes My Everything" (1967), "Am I That Easy to Forget" (1968) and "A Man Without Love" (1968). In the process, he attained a large following, with some of his most devoted fans calling themselves "Humperdinckers".

Two of his singles were among the best-selling of the 1960s in the UK. During the 1970s, Humperdinck had significant North American chart successes with "After the Lovin'" (1976) and "This Moment in Time" (1979). Having garnered a reputation as a prolific concert performer, he received renewed attention during the 1990s lounge revival with his recordings of "Lesbian Seagull" for the soundtrack of Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996), and a dance album (1998).

The new millennium brought a range of musical projects for the singer, including the Grammy-nominated gospel album Always Hear the Harmony: The Gospel Sessions (2003) and a double album of duets, Engelbert Calling (2014). In 2012, Humperdinck represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku with the song "Love Will Set You Free", and placed 25th out of 26.

After marking more than 50 years as a successful singer, Humperdinck continues to record and tour, having sold more than 140 million records worldwide. Arnold George Dorsey was born in Madras, British India (now Chennai, India) in 1936, one of 10 children born to British Army NCO Mervyn Dorsey, who was of Welsh descent, and his wife Olive who, according to the singer, was of German descent.

Various sources also say that he has Anglo-Indian heritage. His family moved to Leicester, England, when he was ten years old. He later showed an interest in music and began learning the saxophone. By the early 1950s, he was playing saxophone in nightclubs, but he is believed not to have begun singing until he was in his late teens. His impression of Jerry Lewis prompted friends to begin calling him "Gerry Dorsey", a name that he worked under for almost a decade.

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