NEWS

By Gary Graff  The Oakland Press December 10, 2020

During a nearly 65-year performing career, it seems odd that Engelbert Humperdinck has never done a Christmas show.

Until now.

The 84-year-old singer, who was born in India and raised in England, will host a virtual "Christmas Special" concert on Saturday, Dec. 12. The show will feature holiday songs both old and new, and various packages allow for Meet & Greets with Humperdinck and even a personal video phone call. 'Tis the season, after all."

And Humperdinck hasn't been only about the holidays this year. Last month he released an EP, "Sentiments," whose five songs include covers of Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me," Bob Dylan's "Forever Young," the Charlie Chaplin-written "Smile" and a duet with Janet Devilin on the Elvis Presley classic "Can't Help Falling in Love"...

• Even though he’s never done a Christmas show before, Humperdinck doesn't think it will take much to shift into Yuletide mode. "I love Christmas. I come from a big family, so it was very celebrated. I have seven sisters and two brothers and everybody got together. Everyone. It was always a big gathering, and very festive."

His "Christmas Special," then, will try to recreate the kind of celebrations Humperdinck grew up with and has maintained. "It'll be a family sort of thing. I'll have three of my children there, and my daughter's little girl, who’s going to perform with me 'cause she's entering into show business. So it will be just my family and my wife and myself. And the crew."

• Humperdinck says the concert will last for an hour and include "quite a number of the Christmas songs from all the albums I've done, three Christmas albums in the past, and hopefully I've chosen the right material. It's all about being home for Christmas and that sort of thing. Not everybody will be able to come home, but the songs will be there to help them get the feeling of Christmas."

• Humperdinck decided to call his new EP "Sentiments" to reflect the common ground he finds in each of the songs. The original "One World," he says, "is a great song 'cause the lyrics are so appropriate for what's happening in today's world -- not even something to do with anything political. It's me wanting to express the idea and the wish that we can all come together and have a have a peaceful world."

• Dylan's "Forever Young," meanwhile, is an expression of how Humperdinck feels about himself as well. "I just love that song. It’s my sentiment entirely. On my last album I did a song called 'Don't Let the Old Man In,' and my sentiments are I don't ever want to feel or look old -- though nature has taken me close in that direction. But God has been good to me. My skin has been good. I haven't been under the knife. I just try to keep myself in a young situation."

Engelbert Humperdinck presents a "Christmas Special" virtual concert at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12. Tickets via events.loopedlive.com/engelbert.

https://www.theoaklandpress.com/entertainment/engelbert-humperdincks-virtual-christmas-special-5-things-to-know/article_8788d90c-3b14-11eb-b18a-e3095a4a4b74.html