James Last Music
Last in 1970 Background information Birth name Hans Last Also known as Hansi Born ( 1929-04-17)17 April 1929, Died 9 June 2015 ( 2015-06-09) (aged 86), U.S. Genres Occupation(s) Instruments Years active 1946–2015 Labels, Website James Last (born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a composer and leader of the. Initially a (Last won the award for 'best bassist' in Germany in each of the years 1950–1952 ), his trademark 'happy music' made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the, with 65 of his albums reaching the charts in the UK alone. His composition ' became an international success in interpretations by and. Last is reported to have sold an estimated 200 million albums worldwide in his lifetime (figures vary widely, for example (2006) reports 100 million at that time ), of which 80 million were sold by 1973 - and won numerous awards including 200 gold and 14 platinum discs in Germany, the International MIDEM Prize at in 1969, and 's highest civilian award, the (Order of Merit of the ) in 1978.
His album remained a UK best-seller for 48 weeks, and his song ' has been covered over a hundred times. Last undertook his final tour months before his death at age 86, upon discovering in September 2014 that an illness (the exact illness was never disclosed ) had worsened. His final UK performance was his 90th at London's, more than any other performer except. Last's trademark sound employed big band arrangements of well-known tunes with a jaunty dance beat, often heavy on bass and brass. Despite at times being derided by critics and as the 'king of ' or 'acoustic ', his style and music were popular in numerous countries and cultures, including Japan, the former, the USA and UK, and his native Germany, where it became 'the archetypal soundtrack of any German cellar bar party', and made him the 'most commercially successful bandleader' of the second half of the 20th century.
Last in April 2015, two months before his death Last first released albums in the U.S. Under the titles The American Patrol on around 1964. He also released a series of nine albums in a series called Classics Up To Date which served up arrangements of classical melodies with strings, rhythm and wordless chorus from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s. Last 1965 album, was a recording of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied together by an insistent dance beat and crowd noises. It was a hit and helped make him a major European star. Over the next four decades, Last released over 190 records, including several more volumes of Non-Stop Dancing. On these records, he varied his formula by adding different songs from different countries and genres, as well as guest performers like and.
He also had his own throughout the 1970s with guests including and which was screened across Europe. Last's trademark sound employed big band arrangements of well-known tunes with a jaunty dance beat, often heavy on bass and brass. Though his concerts and albums were consistently successful, especially in the, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967 and 1986, which made him second only to in charting records, he had relatively few hit singles.
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In the UK, his only chart singles were 'The Seduction', a cover version of the theme from (1980) composed by, and 'Biscaya' from the album Biscaya. His single 'Mornings at Seven' became a familiar tune in Britain after the BBC used it as the theme music for an ice skating programme. It was originally released on 7' vinyl in 1968 and has since then been included in several albums including By Request and Eighty Not Out.
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In the US, where 'The Seduction' became a Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 28 on the and No. 22 on the in May 1980, Last was somewhat more successful on the singles charts. In 2003, his song ' (The Lonely Shepherd) which features the of appeared on the soundtrack of the movie.
He won numerous popular and professional awards, including magazine's Star of the Year trophy in 1976, and was honoured for lifetime achievement with the German prize in 1994. His song 'Music from Across the Way' (recorded by Andy Williams in 1972) is a melody with a classical feeling and was a worldwide hit; it was the only other Last single apart from 'The Seduction' to reach the U.S. Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart) in late 1971. (His only other U.S. Chart single was a double-sided entry featuring remakes of ' ' and 's ', which reached No.
22 on the Adult Contemporary chart in early 1971). Last was awarded the by for being the leader of the most popular dance band of 1981. In Canada, he had three hits on the Top Singles charts (' at #46, 'Music From Across the Way' at #28, 'The Seduction' at #32) and four on the Adult Contemporary/MOR charts ('Music From.'
At #2, 'Heart of Gold' at #17, 'The Seduction' at #36, 'Reach For A Star' at #20). Songs composed by Last which achieved success in the US include ' and ', both recorded by, ', recorded by, and ', recorded. By the time of his farewell tour in the spring of 2015, Last was reported to have sold well over 100 million albums. His signature piece was '. He played this at almost every concert. He encouraged the band to have fun with it and sometimes the band members would go into the audience and make a conga line complete with duck head umbrellas.
It was always a popular piece at his concerts. In February 2015, after almost 50 years on tour, James Last announced that he was finally bidding adieu to the stage. The last concert of his 'Non Stop Music James Last in Concert 2015' farewell tour took place in 's on 26 April 2015, ending an era of almost half a century of 'happy sound' music.
Personal life Last married his first wife, Waltraud, in 1955; they had two children, Ronald and Caterina. After 42 years of marriage, Waltraud died in 1997. Two years later, Last married Christine Grundner from. Last and Christine divided their time between homes in and. He gave much credit to Christine and son Ronald for help with his music. Financial difficulties Despite being the 'most commercially successful bandleader' of the second half of the 20th century, Last's easygoing spending and 'incompetent' financial advice led him at one stage to the 'brink of ruin' financially.
Illness, final tour and death In September 2014 Last learned that a 'life threatening' illness had worsened (the exact details were never disclosed), and in early 2015 he announced his retirement from touring would take place following a final 'goodbye tour', which commenced in Germany and ended in London. Last died less than three months later, on 9 June 2015 in Florida at the age of 86. Writing in, suggested that Last's Non-Stop Dancing albums 'paved the way for disco and dance mixes'. Asked if he minded being labelled the 'King of Corn', Last had replied 'No, because it is true.'
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Awards List of awards. ^ (10 June 2015). Retrieved 2015-06-11. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited.
Retrieved 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
Billboard 4 March 1995 p.55 (4th Echo Awards). ^ Nianias, Helen (10 June 2015). The Independent. ^ (11 June 2015). Retrieved 2015-06-11.
Retrieved 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2014-12-02. Last, James (2007).
My Autobiography. London: Metro Publishing. ^ Kennedy Street. Royal Albert Hall. Archived from on 2012-12-11. Retrieved 2012-12-15. Archived from on 2015-04-11.
Retrieved 2016-01-12. Archived from on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
Archived from on 2016-01-12. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
Retrieved 2016-01-12. on. webprojaggt.de. Archived from on 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2016-09-27., James Last and his wife Christine Grundner attend NDR Talkshow at NDR Studios on March 6, 2015 in Hamburg, Germany., stern.de, June 10, 2015., fr-online.de, April 16, 2009. Retrieved 2015-06-11.
10 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-10. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-10.
Retrieved 2014-12-02. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. Deutsche welle, 2014-04-16.
A big band leader who has spent his career transforming pop hits into easy listening, orchestral show tunes, James Last sold over 70 million records to become a huge star in Europe. Raised in Bremen, Germany, he learned to play piano as a 10-year-old, training in military music schools in Frankfurt before being inspired by the American jazz and swing music that he first heard with the end of World War 2. He made his name as leader and bass player of the acclaimed Last-Becker Ensemble, before becoming an arranger for Polydor Records and releasing his debut album Non-Stop Dancing (1956). Incorporating polkas, classical, bebop and rock sounds, he defined his work as 'happy music' and crafted lively, melodic, upbeat instrumentals that cut through the gloom of the post-war years and resulted in 52 hit albums in the UK between 1967 and 1986.
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Only Elvis Presley has had more charted records in Britain, but it was his composition Happy Heart for which he became most famed when it was recorded by both Andy Williams and Petula Clark in 1969. Still performing and recording into his 80s, Last's music has also featured in many films, including American Gigolo, Shallow Grave and Kill Bill Vol.1.
Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved.