File:Grand_Gala_du_Disque_in_RAI_Amsterdam._James_Last_Band,_Bestanddeelnr_923-3019.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
James Last, born Hans Last in Bremen, Germany, on April 17, 1929, was a German composer, conductor, jazz musician, and pianist. He began his work period in 1946 and performed using instruments such as the double bass. His musical genres included jazz, estrada, easy listening, and acoustic porridge. He recorded for the Polydor record label and was recognized with the Goldene Stimmgabel award.
He died from disease on June 9, 2015, in Palm Beach Gardens. He is buried at Ohlsdorf Cemetery. Last spoke and wrote in German. He used the pseudonyms James Last and Hansi. His sibling was Kai Warner.
Synthesized by Vinony from 33 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
Bremen, Germany
Known for
- MDR um 4 — Self2014
- James Last: Gold Top live – Das Beste aus der ZDF-„Starparade“ — himself2011
- Ein Abend für.. — Self2008
- Mein Nachmittag — Self2008
- James Last: Live at The Royal Albert Hall2007
- Legends — Self (archive footage)2006
- De Wereld Draait Door — Self2005
- Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel — Self2004
- Bei Hübner — Self2004
- ZIBB — Self2003
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- Germany
- Active from
- 1929
- Active to
- 2015
Discography
- Die gab’s nur einmal: Großes Sorgenbrecher-Potpourri mit Schlagern der letzten 50 Jahre1963
- Die gab’s nur einmal, Folge 2: Schlager von gestern und heute zum Tanzen und Mitsingen1964
- Non Stop Dancing '651965
- Non Stop Dancing ’651965
- A Date With James Last1966
- Ännchen von Tharau bittet zum Tanz1966
- Christmas Dancing1966
- Classics Up to Date1966
- Concerto per Natale1966
- Hammond à gogo Vol. II1966
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 210,748
- Total plays
- 2,357,269
Tags
James Last (Hans Last, * April 17, 1929 in Bremen, † June, 9, 2015 in Florida) was a German composer and big band leader with a large fan base in Europe and world-wide. Last's trademark was arranging pop hits in a big-band style; his series of "party albums" is equally well-known. Over the course of his career, he has sold well over 100 million albums. Last learned how to play piano as child, switching to bass as a teenager. He joined Hans-Gunther Oesterreich's Radio Bremen Dance Orchestra in 1
Key facts
- Also known as
- Hansi
- Born
- Hans Last , ( 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
- Composer
- Instrument
- Double bass
- Years active
- 1946–2015
- Labels
- Polydor PolyGram Universal Eagle Rock Warner Bros.
- Website
- jameslast .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Hans
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Germany
- Place of birth
- Bremen
- Place of death
- Palm Beach Gardens
- Occupation
- singer
- Languages spoken
- German
- Native language
- German
- Genre
- easy listening
- Instrument
- double bass
- Record label
- Polydor
- Official website
- www.jameslast.com
- Image
- WP2015 JamesLast FFM.jpg
Show 11 more facts
- Commons category
- James Last
- date of birth
- 1929-04-17
- date of death
- 2015-06-09
- birth name
- Hans Last
- name in native language
- James Last
- place of burial
- Ohlsdorf Cemetery
- pseudonym
- Hansi
- cause of death
- disease
- start of work period
- 1946-00-00
- has works in the collection
- Netherlands Photo Museum
- manner of death
- natural causes
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “James Last” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.