He Sang ‘My Cherie Amour’ for Decades — But Who Was Engelbert Humperdinck Really Singing To?
For Engelbert Humperdinck, some songs are remembered for their melodies, others for their voices. And then there are songs that live on as unanswered questions. “My Cherie Amour” is one of them.
Originally written by Stevie Wonder, the song already carried emotional weight. But when Engelbert Humperdinck recorded his version, he transformed it into something quieter, softer, and far more reflective. Rather than a youthful declaration of love, his rendition feels like a memory being gently revisited.
Why did Engelbert Humperdinck choose this song?
By the late 1960s and 1970s, Engelbert Humperdinck had become the voice of mature romance. His songs often spoke of love remembered rather than love celebrated.
“My Cherie Amour” fit that image perfectly. In his hands, the song sounds less like a confession and more like a whisper — as if the woman in the song exists somewhere between reality and memory.
The mystery behind the song
Over decades of performances, Engelbert Humperdinck never publicly connected “My Cherie Amour” to a specific woman in his life. That silence sparked endless curiosity among fans. Was there a real “cherie amour”? Or was the song meant to remain open-ended? Engelbert once explained that he preferred to let listeners bring their own stories into the music. For him, a song didn’t need explanation — it needed honesty.
A song that aged with the singer
One of the most remarkable things about Engelbert Humperdinck’s performances of “My Cherie Amour” is how they evolved over time.
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In his early years, the song felt warm and romantic.
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In later years, it became slower, deeper, and filled with longing.
Each performance sounded like a conversation between the past and the present — between who he was and who he had become.
A love song without a name
Perhaps the reason “My Cherie Amour” continues to resonate is because it never defines its subject. There is no face, no name, no ending. It becomes a place where listeners can quietly place their own memories — a first love, a lost relationship, or someone they never forgot. That may be why Engelbert Humperdinck never needed to explain who he was singing to. The song had already found its home in millions of hearts.