New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Energized by the yearlong celebration of his 50th Showbiz Anniversary, iconic pop singer,
Engelbert Humperdinck feels the urge to start his next decade on a celebratory note as well. Coming hot on the heels of his first album of original material in over a decade, the acclaimed The Man I Want to Be, Engelbert decided to launch the next chapter of his illustrious career on October 12, 2018 by surprising the fans with Warmest Christmas Wishes, a brand-new Christmas album - his first in almost forty years.
Much like its predecessor, Warmest Christmas Wishes is a combination of classic, new and unexpected songs. Traditional holiday songs like "
Silent Night" and "O Tannenbaum" sit next to American Yule Standards like "Please Come Home for Christmas" and "White Christmas," the latter being reinvented in a Django Reinhardt inspired swing arrangement.
Premiering "
Please Come Home For Christmas" with Billboard, Engelbert told the magazine, "It's been such a long time since I recorded a Christmas album, and fans have been asking me, 'When are you going to do another one?' Finally, we decided to do it. I love (Christmas). From me growing up with a large family and everybody singing around the Christmas tree, it was a wonderful, wonderful upbringing. So (Christmas) is very special with me to share."
Among the other tracks on the album, Engelbert delivers Christmas cheer with Chris Rea's "Driving Home for Christmas" and Gilbert O'Sullivan's "
Christmas Song". Two new original songs - "Christmas for the Family" and "Around the Christmas Tree" are bound to become instant holiday favorites. In all there are 14 chestnuts to celebrate the Christmas joy delivered in Engelbert Humperdinck's inimitable style.
WARMEST CHRISTMAS WISHES - Track Listing:
Please Come Home For Christmas
Driving Home For Christmas
I'm Not Dreaming of A White Christmas
I'll Be Home for Christmas
Christmas Medley
Christmas For The Family
Silently Falls The Snow
O Tannenbaum
Still, Still, Still
Silent Night
Christmas Tree
White Christmas
What Are You Doing NYE
Leise rieselt der Schnee
In addition to the celebration of not only holidays and Engelbert's 50th showbiz anniversary, a concert has been filmed this past weekend in Honolulu, HI, in the midst of the threat of the impending hurricane Lane. Thankfully skipping over the historic Hawaii Theater where the concert was filmed, the special will be airing in December. More information, channels and air dates for the broadcast of the special will be released at a later time.
Like last year's The Man I Want to Be, this album was produced by Jurgen Korduletsch, arranged by Geoff Stradling and longtime Engelbert collaborators Johnny Harris and the late Jeff Sturges. Recorded at some of Los Angeles's most iconic studios, most prominently Capitol Studios Hollywood with some of the finest musicians LA has to offer and engineers including Steve Genewick and Niko Bolas, Warmest Christmas Wishes has something for everyone this holiday season.
Aside from the release of The Man I Want to Be, his original label Decca Records released a comprehensive Greatest Hits package in May of 2017 to celebrate his 50th anniversary in show business, which promptly became a Top 5 Chart record in his home country of England. Decca honored his celebrated career with an additional 11 CD box set which includes Engelbert's first 11 albums recorded for the label. OK!Good Records also previously released a double-CD of duets, Engelbert Calling, in
September of 2014, which featured collaborations by Engelbert with fellow artists such as Elton John, Willie Nelson, Gene Simmons, Johnny Mathis, Charles Asznavour and many others, with Engelbert, making a number of promotional appearances on radio and television.
