James Last facts for kids

Quick facts for kids James Last
Last in 1970
Background information
Birth name	Hans Last
Also known as	Hansi
Born	(1929-04-17)17 April 1929 Bremen, Germany
Died	9 June 2015(2015-06-09) (aged 86) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Big band
Occupation(s)	Composer
Instruments	Double bass
Years active	1946–2015
Labels	Polydor PolyGram Universal Eagle Rock Warner Bros.

James Last (born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015) was a famous German composer and big band leader. People also knew him as Hansi. He led the well-known James Last Orchestra.

James Last started his career as a jazz bassist. He was even voted the "best bassist" in Germany for three years in a row (1950–1952). His special "happy music" style made his many albums huge hits. They sold millions of copies in Germany and the United Kingdom. In the UK alone, 65 of his albums made it onto the music charts.

One of his most famous songs, "Happy Heart", became a worldwide success. Singers like Andy Williams and Petula Clark recorded their own versions of it. James Last sold an amazing 200 million records around the world during his lifetime. He won many awards, including 200 gold and 14 platinum records in Germany. He also received Germany's highest civilian award in 1978.

His album This Is James Last stayed on the UK best-seller list for 48 weeks. His song "Games That Lovers Play" has been recorded by other artists over a hundred times. James Last continued performing almost until the end of his life. He went on his final tour just months before he passed away at age 86. His last show in the UK was his 90th at London's Royal Albert Hall. Only Eric Clapton has performed there more often.

Last's unique sound used big band arrangements of popular songs. They often had a lively dance beat with strong bass and brass instruments. While some critics called his music "elevator music," his style was loved in many countries. This included Japan, South Korea, the former Soviet Union, the US, the UK, and his home country, Germany. His music became the classic soundtrack for German parties. This made him the most successful bandleader of the second half of the 20th century. His song "Jägerlatein" is even the theme tune for a popular sports show in Ireland.

Early Life and Music Start

James Last was born in Bremen, Germany. His parents were Louis and Martha Last. He had two older brothers, Robert and Werner, who also became musicians. James grew up in a suburb called Sebaldsbrück.

He began learning to play the piano when he was 10 years old. Even at age 9, he could play simple folk songs. His first music teacher thought he wasn't very talented. But with his second teacher, he started playing more. As a teenager, he switched to the double bass.

During World War II, his hometown of Bremen was heavily bombed. James helped by running messages to air defense posts. At 14, he joined a military music school. There, he learned to play the bass, piano, and tuba.

After the war, he joined the Radio Bremen Dance Orchestra. In 1948, he became the leader of the Last-Becker Ensemble. This group performed for seven years. He was voted the best bassist in Germany for three years in a row. After the ensemble broke up, he became an arranger for Polydor Records. He also worked for many European radio stations. For the next ten years, he helped arrange hit songs for many artists.

His Amazing Music Career

Last in April 2015, two months before his death

James Last started releasing albums in the U.S. around 1964. He also created a series of nine albums called Classics Up To Date. These albums featured classical melodies arranged with strings, rhythm, and a wordless choir.

His 1965 album, Non Stop Dancing, was a huge success. It featured short versions of popular songs. All the songs were connected by a strong dance beat and sounds of a cheering crowd. This album made him a major star in Europe. Over the next 40 years, Last released more than 190 records. Many of these were more volumes of Non Stop Dancing. He often added different songs from various countries and styles. He also worked with guest artists like Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto.

In the 1970s, he had his own successful television show called Star Parade. Famous guests like ABBA appeared on his show. His concerts and albums were very popular, especially in the UK. He had 52 hit albums there between 1967 and 1986. This meant he had more charting records than anyone except Elvis Presley.

While he had many hit albums, he had fewer hit singles. His song "Mornings at Seven" became well-known in Britain. The BBC used it as the theme music for an ice skating program.

In 2003, his song "Einsamer Hirte" (The Lonely Shepherd) was featured in the movie Kill Bill Volume 1. This song includes the beautiful sound of the pan flute played by Gheorghe Zamfir.

James Last won many awards for his music. These included Billboard magazine's Star of the Year trophy in 1976. He also received the German ECHO prize in 1994 for his lifetime achievements. His song "Music from Across the Way" was a worldwide hit. It was his only song to reach the U.S. Hot 100 chart.

In 1981, Princess Margaret gave him the Carl Alan Award. This was for leading the most popular dance band. Songs he composed that became hits for other artists include "Happy Heart" for Andy Williams. He also wrote "Games That Lovers Play" for Eddie Fisher and "Fool" for Elvis Presley. By the time of his farewell tour in 2015, he had sold over 100 million albums.

His signature song was "Orange Blossom Special". He played this song at almost every concert. He loved for his band members to have fun with it. Sometimes, they would even go into the audience and start a conga line! It was always a favorite at his shows.

In February 2015, after nearly 50 years of touring, James Last announced his retirement. His very last concert took place in Cologne, Germany, on 26 April 2015.

Personal Life and Challenges

James Last married his first wife, Waltraud, in 1955. They had two children, Ronald and Caterina. Waltraud passed away in 1997 after 42 years of marriage. Two years later, James married Christine Grundner. James and Christine lived in both Florida and Hamburg. He often said that Christine and his son Ronald helped him a lot with his music.

Even though he was one of the most successful bandleaders, James Last faced financial problems. This was due to his spending habits and bad financial advice. He invested in things like oil rigs and wineries in the US. But it turned out these projects didn't even exist. This led to big tax problems. He had to take out a loan and wasn't debt-free until he was almost 70.

Later Years and Passing

In September 2014, James Last found out that a serious illness he had was getting worse. The exact details of his illness were not shared. In early 2015, he announced his final "goodbye tour." This tour started in Germany and ended in London.

James Last passed away less than three months later, on 9 June 2015, in Florida. He was 86 years old. A writer named Spencer Leigh said that James Last's Non-Stop Dancing albums helped create disco and dance music. When asked if he minded being called the "King of Corn," James Last reportedly said, "No, because it is true."

Awards and Recognition

James Last received many awards for his contributions to music:

• MIDEM-Trophy, Cannes for 1 million non Stop Dancing records.
• Deutscher Schallplattenpreis for his new arrangement of Bertholt Brecht's Dreigroschenoper.
• Europa - Europawelle Saar.
• Goldenes Grammophon, Munich.
• Silber Möwe, Hamburg.
• Gold Leaf Award (Canada) for Super Non Stop Dancing.
• Gold Leaf Award (Canada) for James Dos His Thing.
• Gold Award, Record World Top German Orchestra.
• Country Musik Award, (ASCAO) for When The Snow Is On The Rose.
• ASCAP Award for Elvis Presley recording of Fool.
• Goldene Westfalenhalle.
• Goldener Notenschlüssel from the German Music Publisher Sikorski.
• Ehrenlöwe from Radio Luxembourg.
• Star Of The Year Trophy from Music Week and Billboard, London.
• Robert Stolz-Preis from the Robert-Stolz-Stiftung.
• Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande from the German President Walter Scheel.
• Die Goldene Kamera - Hörzu.
• Special-Prize for 52 Chart-Albums, Great Britain.
• Goldene Stimmgabel from ZDF 1991.
• Goldene Eins 1994.
• Echo 1994 Life Award 1995.
• Goldene Europa 1998.

Discography

James Last released many albums throughout his career. Here are some of them:

Studio Albums

• Die gab's nur einmal (1963)
• Non Stop Dancing '65 (1965)
• Classics Up to Date (1966)
• Games That Lovers Play (1967)
• Non Stop Dancing '68 (1968)
• Hair (1969)
• Around the World (1970)
• Music from Across the Way (1971)
• Polka Party (1971)
• Classics (1973)
• Sing mit (1973)
• Beachparty 5 (1974)
• Rock Me Gently (1975)
• Happy Summer Night (1976)
• Russland Erinnerungen (1977)
• World Hits (1978)
• Caribbean Nights (1980)
• Biscaya (1982)
• James Last im Allgäu (In the Alps) (1984)
• Viva Vivaldi (1985)
• Plus (with Astrud Gilberto) (1986)
• James Last spielt Bach (1987)
• Flute Fiesta (with Berdien Stenberg) (1988)
• James Last spielt Mozart (1988)
• Happy Heart (1989)
• Traummelodien (with Richard Clayderman) (1990)
• Pop Symphonies (1991)
• Frieden (Peace) (1992)
• James Last spielt Andrew Lloyd Webber (1993)
• Christmas Eve (with Engelbert Humperdinck) (1994)
• In Harmony (with Richard Clayderman) (1995)
• My Soul – Best of Motown (1995)
• Country Roads (1998)
• James Last & Friends (1998)
• Ocean Drive (2001)
• James Last Plays ABBA (2001)
• New Party Classics (2002)
• They Call Me Hansi (2004)

Live Albums

• Freddy Live (1968) (with Freddy Quinn)
• James Last Live (1974)
• Live in London (1978)
• The Berlin-Concert ’87 (1987)
• Gentleman of Music (2000)
• Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2008)

Soundtracks

• Morning's at Seven (1968)
• The Captain (1971)
• Schwarzwaldfahrt aus Liebeskummer (1974)
• Traumschiff-Melodies (1986)
• Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps (2007)

Singles (Selected)

• "Midnight in December" (1966)
• "The Lonely Shepherd" with Gheorghe Zamfir (1977)

Compilation Albums (Selected)

• Does His Thing (Happy Music) (1970)
• El Condor Pasa (1971)
• Super Non-Stop Dancing (1972)
• Eighty Not Out (2010)
• My Personal Favourites (2014)

Chart Positions

Albums

Singles

See also

• James Last Orchestra