Engelbert Humperdinck Pairs With Gene Simmons, Elton John on First Duets Album, 2014

Engelbert Humperdinck decided to do an album of duets — a two-disc, 23-track duets set with Elton John, Smokey Robinson, Il Divo, Willie Nelson, Kiss’ Gene Simmons, Wynonna Judd and more –for one simple reason: He’d never done it before.

“I figured this’ll be my 80th album, and I’ve never done a duets album, so it was kind of a change for me,” Humperdinck, who releases “Engelbert Calling” on March 17 in the U.K. and later this spring in the U.S., tells Billboard. “It was a big change and a great honor to work with all these legendary people. All of (the songs) are pretty personal; I wouldn’t have chosen them if I didn’t particularly like them. They all have a certain significance attached to them that relates to my life and to (the other singers).”