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King of Romance Engelbert Humperdinck still wooing audiences

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Engelbert Humperdinck has a few rituals to perform before his upcoming show at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

He’ll do a sound check at the venue and loosen up with the band before eating a meal at 5:30 p.m. After all that, he’ll practice a few songs, but not on stage — rather, in the bathroom.

“I sing in the shower,” he said. “You need the moisture, and the steam helps.”

The “King of Romance” is in the process of wooing his fans once again.

Humperdinck, the 78-year-old British singer who has endeared audiences with his romantic ballads, is set to sing his beloved list of love songs Saturday evening.

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“It’s been a wonderful journey,” Humperdinck said of his 40-year musical career.

Born Arnold George Dorsey, the second youngest of 10 children spent the first 11 years of his life in his native India, where his father worked as an engineer. By the time the family moved to England, settling in Leicester, the 11-year-old was showing an interest in music and learning the saxophone. By the early 1950s he was playing in nightclubs. After serving in the British Army Royal Corps of Signals, he began singing in clubs but struggled to make a living.

To reinvent himself, he followed the advice of his manager, Gordon Mills, who had recently propelled Tom Jones toward his first major hit, “It’s Not Unusual.”

Mills suggested changing Dorsey’s name to Engelbert Humperdinck, after the 19th-century German composer and creator of the opera “Hansel and Gretel.”

The singer didn’t protest.

“I had no choice,” he was once quoted as saying. “I was a starving singer, and someone was giving me a chance to get on in the business.”

The name change may have done the trick. Humperdinck has sold more than 150 million records worldwide.

“I’ve been fortunate to record many songs,” Humperdinck said during a phone interview Tuesday.

Fans, who call themselves “Humperdinckers,” know by heart that discography with the tenderly named hits: “Spanish Eyes,” with the sentimental lyrics “Say you and your Spanish eyes will wait for me,” and “The Last Waltz,” with The last waltz should last forever,” to name a couple.

But Humperdinck is particularly proud of “Release Me,” a song that stayed at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1967 for six weeks, preventing the Beatles’ “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields Forever” from reaching the top. “Release Me” has been described as the highest-selling single of 1967 in the UK, recording over 1 million sales, and became a Top 10 song in the United States.

“I’m a huge fan of the Beatles,” Humperdinck said when he recalled how he felt placing first. “But along came me from Leicester.”

The record stayed on the charts for a record 56 consecutive weeks. Humperdinck’s thrust into the spotlight solidified his presence in show business. At one point, the single sold 80,000 copies a day.

Humperdinck also made the charts with “Am I That Easy to Forget” and “A Man Without Love.” His 1976 pop single “After the Lovin’” soared to the top of the Billboard adult contemporary chart. He returned to the same chart in 1979 with “This Moment in Time.”

With four Grammy Award nominations and 63 gold and 24 platinum records, Humperdinck remains a popular act with his signature sideburns. The younger generation watched him appear on “MTV Beach House,” “Chilling with the Weaze” and “Oddville.” He’s become a fixture on the Las Vegas scene. He and his wife, Patricia, who have been married since 1964 and have four children, divide their time between homes in California and England.

Humperdinck said that during the concert, he will perform music off his latest album, “Engelbert Calling,” a collaboration with Elton John.

The album’s title came from John’s admission that in his early days, he’d wait for Humperdinck to call so John could try to sell him a song.

“I called,” Humperdinck said with a laugh, referring to the recent collaboration.

The album features duets with Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Kenny Rogers and Dionne Warwick, among others. The album placed third on the HMV album charts on the day of its release.

“Once you get a person like Elton John, you have the honeycomb and it attracts all the rest,” Humperdinck said.

John said his new recording partner was one of the nicest people he has ever worked with.

“We had a great time singing together,” John said in a press statement.

The two sang “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” on the duet album; Humperdinck will sing a virtual duet with John on Saturday night.

There’s one feeling he hopes his audience will take away from his show.

That’s contentment. And maybe a little steam.

If You Go

Who: Engelbert Humperdinck

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

Cost: $59 to $250

Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org

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