James Last

James Last (German pronunciation: [tʃeɪms last], [dʃeɪms lɑːst]; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015) was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist, his trademark "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the United Kingdom, with 65 of his albums reaching the charts in the UK alone. His composition "Happy Heart" became an international success in interpretations by Andy Williams and Petula Clark. Last is reported to have sold an estimated 200 million records worldwide in his lifetime 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 MIDEM in 1969, and West Germany's highest civilian award, the Bundesverdienstkreuz. His album This Is James Last remained a UK best-seller for 48 weeks, and his song "Games That Lovers Play" 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 had worsened. His final UK performance was his 90th at London's Royal Albert Hall, more than any other performer except Eric Clapton. 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 purists as the "king of elevator music" or "acoustic porridge", his style and music were popular in numerous countries and cultures, including Japan, South Korea, the former Soviet Union, the US 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.

The America Album - 2012-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Live in Europe 2004 - 2006-12-01T00:00:00.000000Z

They Call Me Hansi - 2004-10-18T00:00:00.000000Z

Gentleman Of Music (Live) - 2002-10-22T00:00:00.000000Z

New Party Classics - 2002-10-18T00:00:00.000000Z

James Last Plays Abba - 2001-10-08T00:00:00.000000Z

Ocean Drive "Easy Living" - 2001-05-11T00:00:00.000000Z

James Last Concerts - 1999-11-19T00:00:00.000000Z

Happy Birthday - 1999-04-30T00:00:00.000000Z

James Last And Friends - 1998-12-04T00:00:00.000000Z

Country Roads - 1998-09-30T00:00:00.000000Z

Live On Tour 1997 - 1998-09-30T00:00:00.000000Z

Macarena - 1996-09-29T00:00:00.000000Z

Classics From Russia - 1996-09-27T00:00:00.000000Z

My Soul - Motown's Best - 1995-11-06T00:00:00.000000Z

Dein ist mein ganzes Herz - 1994-11-01T00:00:00.000000Z

In Harmony - 1994-10-10T00:00:00.000000Z

James Last spielt die großen Musical-Erfolge von Andrew Lloyd Webber - 1993-09-28T00:00:00.000000Z

Peace (Expanded Edition) - 1992-11-06T00:00:00.000000Z

Viva España (Expanded Edition) - 1992-01-01T00:00:00.000000Z

Serenaden - 1991-09-19T00:00:00.000000Z

Pop Symphonies - 1991-06-03T00:00:00.000000Z

Classics By Moonlight - 1990-05-10T00:00:00.000000Z

Lieder - 1989-11-29T00:00:00.000000Z

Happy Heart - 1989-04-17T00:00:00.000000Z