Engelbert Humperdinck will go down in history as the quintessential romantic pop music crooner and a sex symbol for a generation.

He's been called "The Voice Of The Century" and the "Raja of Romance" and at age 62, Humperdinck's still got a reputation for strumming the heartstrings as will no doubt be seen tonight when Humperdinck takes to the Ottawa Civic Centre stage for an 8 p.m. concert.

In fact, members of his huge and dedicated fan club follow him all over North America with a fervor normally seen in teenage fans.

Jean Wilhelm, who resides near London, Ont., is just such a fan.

"Well I'm nearly 70, but I've been a fan since he first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in the '60s," says Wilhelm, who called the Sun yesterday to make sure the show was going to be reviewed.

"He just puts on a really good show and over the years I've seen over 200 to 300 shows and I've got all the ticket stubs.

"As well as attending various events put on around North America I've seen him in Las Vegas several times.

"I've been in the fan club for over 25 years and we call it Eng's Royal Canadians. For the fans it's just a great opportunity to see him in concert and then meet a lot of like minded people."

Now talk about dedication to your idol, fan club members actually help furbish Humperdinck's dressing rooms at various shows.

"We'll go in and bring him the towels, special soap in a glass, a fruit basket, flowers, we've even got a Titanic coin and one of those red Canadian hats from the Olympics for him this time.

"Of course there's always a few goodies that we bake for him personally," she says with a laugh.

Humperdinck oddly chooses not to go on the record about his career, though it's obvious he doesn't need the promotion.

At at time when many his age are planning their next shuffleboard matches, Humperdinck's a working performer and regarded as still one of the most important pop music balladeers of all times.

One of the most memorable things about Humperdinck was during his heyday in the '60s and '70s, when the Madras, India-born, Leister, England native battled fellow Brit Tom Jones for supremacy in the hearts of a predominantly female audience.

In those days it was a parallel pop battle to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for favor.

Humperdinck fell into the cleaner cut, bring-home-to-mother category while Jones was the naughty boy.

These days those images have prevailed, and while Jones continues as a hip cat, Humperdinck's been long since comfortably installed as a vocalist who doesn't have anything to prove and stands on his track record.

During the heady days of his maximum popularity, the man was a hit machine.

He began his lengthy career dubbed Gerry Dorsey, but it wasn't until he adopted Engelbert Humperdinck that the success came.

In the space of a decade, beginning in the early '60s, Humperdinck released a swath of hit records, which capitalized on his 3 1/2 octave vocal range and a love for sugary lyrics.

To this day his biggest hits, Release Me, After the Lovin', Winter World of Love, Am I That Easy To Forget, There Goes My Everything and The Last Waltz live on as classics.

Those hits continue to drive record sales, which sit at the 130 million mark, adding up to 64 gold and 23 platinum awards and an annual rate of five million sales.

Privately Humperdinck divides his time between England and his palatial pink estate in Beverly Hills, which was once owned by blond bombshell Jayne Mansfield.

It features a spectacular chandelier and a massive heart-shaped pool inset with a smaller heart-shaped wading pool designed for Mansfield's daughter.

It also sports an area that showcases the white grand piano on which George Gershwin wrote Rhapsody in Blue.

Over the years he's maintained a rigorous touring schedule and has one of the largest fan clubs in the world -- it reportedly boasts some 8 million members internationally.

One of his more recent discs was titled After Dark and dedicated to helping children with AIDS and cancer and lately he's showcasing the newly released Love Unchained, a disc devoted to reworking some of the classic tracks that the singer himself considers favorites -- Dock of the Bay, Unchained Melody and Love Me Tender being just a few.

Although this has been a career focused on his sexy image, in reality Humperdinck has been a devoted family man married to wife Patricia for over 30 years and the father of four children -- three of whom work on his tours.

For the cyberfans out there who are looking to get in the mood for tonight's concert, try logging on to Humperdinck's extensive website at w.w.w.engelbert.com.

It features a detailed look at his career with photos, audio, video and even shopping online.