No More PBS 39 Posts Today; Instead, a Tribute to the Great Engelbert Humperdinck

I’ve been posting a lot about PBS 39. Stuff about overspending, missed forecasts and high salaries.

Look on the bright side: on Monday, PBS 39 brought us the Engelbert Humperdinck, Live in Hawaii! special. And it was special.

This makes up for everything else. So now, a little tribute to the man we used to call “The Dincker” when I was a kid back in the late 1960s. He has a name everybody over 60 knows, but few of us know the real Engelbert Humperdinck.

He’s no joke. He is a legend, immensely popular, and the guy has performed with rock music royalty.

Engelbert Humperdinck is — remarkably — a stage name. He was born Arnold George Dorsey in India in 1936, the son of British soldier Mervyn Dorsey and his wife Olive. He was known as Gerry Dorsey for a few years because of his excellent impression of actor/comedian Jerry Lewis.

Then, Engelbert took his stage name in 1965 to jumpstart his career. The real Engelbert Humperdinck was a 19th century German composer of operas, notably “Hansel and Gretel.”

The stage name worked. Engelbert, now 88, has sold more than 140 million records, which puts him 40 million above Guns N’ Roses (Axl Rose of GNR is 62). Engelbert’s father lived to be 91, so longevity is in his genes.

Engelbert’s biggest hit was “Release Me” in 1967. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin worked as a session musician on the album of the same name. That seems really weird. I grew up listening to Led Zeppelin, not Engelbert Humperdinck.

Once when Humperdinck’s guitarist was sick, Jimi Hendrix stepped in to help. The two men were performing on the same tour. So say what you will, Engelbert has rock credibility.

Page and Hendrix. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Humperdinck released two albums in 1967, with “The Last Waltz” coming out later.

“Release Me” kept the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields/Penny Lane” single off the top of the charts, according to Wikipedia. However, the Beatles’ 1967 album “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” has had more staying power than either of Engelbert’s discs.

Engelbert’s music wasn’t quite the “British Invasion” but his appeal has held up over the years. He performed in Australia this year.

Humperdinck and fellow octogenarian crooner Tom Jones, 84, have been feuding for many years. Nobody quite knows why, no attempts at reconciliation have worked, and outside of the two singers, I’m not sure that anybody cares.

Engelbert Humperdinck. Singer. British Army veteran. Saxophonist. Friend of some of the biggest names in music history.

The Legend Continues. Best wishes for many more years.