Talk:Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)

Staples Commercials

Should there be a mention of his recent holiday commercials for Staples in the US? Inversed 03:19, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Engelbert Humperdinck (the name)

The word after implies he took the name in honor of the original Humperdinck. In actuality, it was more of a publicity stunt. The wording should be changed. Kingturtle 21:48 May 2, 2003 (UTC)

You are correct, Engelbert did not take the name in honor of Engelbert the composer. Tropiwikian 05:26, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

He did not take the name in honor of Engelbert Humperdinck, but he certainly named himself after the composer. As the article correctly states, Gordon Mills ... convinced Gerry that an audience would never forget the name Engelbert Humperdinck, the name of the German composer who wrote "Hansel and Gretel". --FordPrefect42 16:39, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

Pink Palace

The Pink Palace has been razed by a developer, per the Mickey Hargitay page. So this needs to be researched and the article edited as appropriate. -Kfranco, 29 Dec 2005

Engelbert has one of the best voices ever. I have enjoyed listening many hours. His music creates a mood like no other! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 206.229.248.251 (talk • contribs) .

Career

I am very certain that Engelbert traced his career (with the name he currently uses) back to the 50s, before the said name change in 1965, though it might be true that Gordon Mills was a major part of his career. Marcus 20:08, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

Engelbert was known as Gerry Dorsey early in his career. In 1965 it was Gordon Mills idea to change it to Engelbert Humperdinck. This info comes from his official website and numerous other places on the internet. I haven't seen any other info to the contrary. Tropiwikian 01:43, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

OK, but you can't trust everything (if not, anything) that Engelbert's publicity says. As a matter of fact, engelbert.com may actually be a website that is run by the publicity, not Engelbert himself. Marcus 19:21, 2 Jul 2006 (UTC)

I have greatly researched this article, and have not posted information from one source only as I have already stated. I too only want the truth posted in this article. I think we are both on the same page, do you agree? Tropiwikian 05:14, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Large sections of this seem to be taken from Engelbert's press releases, as found on his website and credited Written by MARLEAH LESLIE & ASSOCIATES. PUBLIC RELATIONS, 8370 Wiishire Blvd., Suite 210 Beverly Hills, CA90211 Tel(323)966 4669 FAX(323)966 4675 - copyright and, worse, accuracy problems? --Alanconnor 14:03, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

Lyrics ?

Hello,

I was trying to find some lyrics for songs of Humperdinck. While I could find some, most of the lyrics are not available. Some sites say "The artist has requested not to disclose the lyrics." What is with this ? I am pretty sure that back when I had the audio casette, it had the lyrics with it. Is it a copyright issue ? I am in particular looking for lyrics of "A Man and a Woman", however that is not the aim of this post - I just wanted to know why the secrecy involved with his lyrics.

--RohanDhruva 19:15, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

It's a copyright issue. Those sites are not legally allowed to republish the lyrics without the copyright-holders' permission, so they take them down upon request. (Lyrics sheets with albums are published by the copyright-holder, so it's not an issue) - 76.105.67.208 06:18, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Eddie Izzard

Okay, I guess it should be obvious that he's not dead long before reaching that part of the article, but still... er, he's not dead, is he? ("He has a cold, yeah, that's it")  :) - 76.105.67.208 06:18, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

His mother's nationality

What are the sources for identifying his mother as British? According to [1] "his mother was a housewife from India". Engelbert Humperdinck himself claims in some interviews, that his mother has been German (cf. [2]). Okay, his mother's name is Olive, which doesn't sound German nor Indian ... What's the truth? --FordPrefect42 11:04, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

His mother was Indian and his father was British. Why has this article suddenly changed? (JosephLondon 16:13, 24 September 2007 (UTC))

Sources? Given the complicated nature of this matter, one single link does not prove very much. --FordPrefect42 17:06, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Maybe "Olive" was an Anglicized name. 70.101.160.105 21:35, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

It seems this article is being edited by people who are very ignorant of the history Anglo-Indian community. Anglo-Indians were culturally British and all had European names. Originally they would have been descended from at least one European Father and one Indian mother. I will change this bit of the article one again, please don't fiddle with it. (JosephLondon 20:34, 4 October 2007 (UTC))

I have clarified Engelbert's nationality, for factual purposes, based on my research. Any comments or concerns, drop me a line. 70.101.160.105 01:00, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

FordPrefect42, your reasons for him not having Anglo-Indian heritage seems to stem from your opinion that Olive doesn't sound Indian enough. Based on my own knowledge of the Anglo-Indian community it is highly likely that his mother might have also had German heritage. As I mentioned above, Anglo-Indians are descended from at least one European father and one Indian mother. It seems that you are adamant that he is not at least even the slightest bit Anglo-Indian. You can even tell by looking at him. It seems that the only way you would believe it is if Engelbert himself made a public statement explicitly stating "I am Anglo-Indian!". Come on get real! (JosephLondon 07:25, 6 October 2007 (UTC))

You are wrong. The reason for my doubts is Engelbert himself stating on several occasions that his mother is German (cf. again [3] plus an interview in a German TV show aired in November 2005). As long as there is one source against the other, one cannot help but call his mother's nationality "disputed". We don't need speculation about likelihood, we need reliable facts! --FordPrefect42 08:25, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

Now this is what can be found on the web about this matter:

• [4] Engelbert calling himself "half-German" in an interview
• [5] "Seine Mutter war Deutsche" (his mother was German)
• [6] "a musically gifted mother, Olive"
• [7] "his mother was a housewife from India"
• [8] "his mother was an Indian housewife"
• [9] "a mother who was a talented violinist and singer [...] Engelbert’s mother had an operatic voice" (does that sound Indian?)
• [10] "his mother taught violin and had an operatic voice"
• [11] "Indian mother"
• [12] "Engelbert was scheduled to visit Anglo-Indian relatives from his mother's side in Madras." (not precisely a mention that his mother was herself anglo-indian)

All very contradicting. The only thing that we can tell for sure at this moment, is, that his mother's name is in fact Olive. --FordPrefect42 09:05, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

FordPrefect42, I will consider taking on board what you have put forward. But really, your comment on link 9 is a little naive. I am saying that she is Anglo-Indian not Indian. The Anglo-Indian community were separate from the natives. They were Christians, spoke English, were very culturally European and drank tea at 4pm. His mother being a talented violinist and operatic singer, does not make her not Anglo-Indian, just because you think it doesn't sound Indian. Along with with common knowledge and from the information that we have found on the internet I think it is better for us to make a reference that his mother's heritage was Germanic-Anglo-Indian, than to omit it completely. (JosephLondon 11:06, 6 October 2007 (UTC))

My question may sound naive, but it was nonetheless meant honestly: I have no idea whether it is plausible, that Anglo-Indians at that time would have dealt professionally with western classical music. At least, I see a possible contradiction between the assertions of her being a "housewife" and a "violin teacher" (but I may be wrong in this respect). I am not saying that he cannot possibly be of Anglo-Indian descent. All I am saying is that, the sources being so contradictory, it is impossible to make a reliable statement based on only one source. BTW: all the sources saying that his mother is German seem to be based on statements that Engelbert gave in Germany, so it might be a "promotion gag" for the German market after all. --FordPrefect42 15:39, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

Folks, we have rules that cover this... to categorize people you need to cite sources, not make your own speculations. When dealing with living people the sources have to be of the highest character, and preferably a self-identification with the category. If we are unsure, or if the sources are contradictary, it is best practice to omit any reference to the category. Besides, does it really matter if his mother was Anglo-Indian, British, German, or anything else? It is a piece of trivia that has no impact on Humperdink's life or notability. Blueboar 14:28, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Actually, in this case it might be more than a piece of trivia; Engelbert, like Cliff, is a something of an institution in the Anglo-Indian community. As possible references: The Hindu, Chicago Sun-times, GK Hall Encyclopaedia of World Cultures. About the other concerns: not only would Anglo-Indians of the time be exposed to classical music, so would a wide swathe of middle-class Indians. It is also completely possible for an Indian woman of a certain class to take violin lessons and yet describe themselves as primarily a housewife. Oh, and as for operatic influences, see the early life of Freddie Mercury. Relata refero 12:23, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

As a relative of the Dorseys, I can testify that my great grandmother was not of Indian lineage but in fact German. She was however, like Engelbert and many generations of our family going back to the 1800s, born in Colonial India as a Briton under the Empire and of European decent. The term Anglo suggests racial decent as in 'Anglo-Asian'... which is incorrect and has likely been removed for this reason. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.16.98.213 (talk) 00:42, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Making This Article Better

The think the tone and style of this article needs to be better. The language of this article reads more like a magazine than an encyclopedia. So I think than rather worrying about the small detail for the moment, we should work on emproving the overall quality of this entry. Also attatching sources to less wellknown claims will give this article some substance. I am pretty sure we can make this a page we can all be proud of. I welcome all your suggestions. (JosephLondon 10:12, 5 October 2007 (UTC))

Fair use rationale for Image:Engelbert Humperdinck - At His Very Best - Front.jpg

Image:Engelbert Humperdinck - At His Very Best - Front.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

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BetacommandBot (talk) 04:46, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:ENGELBERT2.jpg

Image:ENGELBERT2.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 05:55, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Release me chart longevity

I was able to find a site that verifies that Release Me was in the Top 50 for 55 weeks. I followed the chart further to see if I could verify the statement of 56 weeks but could not. The URL is http://www.chartstats.com/chart.php?week=19680217 , which takes you to the chart listed for the 55th week the song was listed. Hinerikeri