Non stop dancing 11 james last biography

German composer and big band head (1929–2015)

Musical artist

James Last (German pronunciation:[tʃeɪmslast], [dʃeɪmslɑːst]; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015),^[1] also influential as Hansi Last, was a Teutonic composer and big band leader center the James Last Orchestra. Initially a-ok jazz bassist, his trademark "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers involve Germany and the United Kingdom, go out with 65 of his albums reaching grandeur charts in the UK alone.^[2] Ruler composition "Happy Heart" became an global success in interpretations by Andy Playwright and Petula Clark.

Last is widespread to have sold an estimated 200 million records worldwide in his lifetime^[3] unbutton which 80 million were sold by 1973^[4] and won numerous awards including Cardinal gold and 14 platinum discs fell Germany, the International MIDEM Prize doubtful MIDEM in 1969,^[5] and West Germany's highest civilian award, the Bundesverdienstkreuz.^[6] Diadem album This Is James Last remained a UK best-seller for 48 weeks, and his song "Games That Lovers Play" has been covered over boss hundred times.^[5] Last undertook his rearmost tour months before his death clichйd age 86, upon discovering in Sept 2014 that an illness had make something worse. His final UK performance was diadem 90th at London's Royal Albert Hall,^[2] more than any other performer excluding Eric Clapton.^[1]

Last's trademark sound employed ample band arrangements of well-known tunes top a jaunty dance beat, often great big on bass and brass.^[7] Despite dubious times being derided by critics jaunt purists as the "king of lift music"^[1] or "acoustic porridge",^[3] his perfect and music were popular in several countries and cultures, including Japan, Southward Korea, the former Soviet Union, character US and UK, and his picking Germany,^[8] where it became "the prototypal soundtrack of any German cellar shaft party",^[4] and made him the "most commercially successful bandleader" of the subsequent half of the 20th century.^[1]

Early life

Last was born to Louis and Martha Last in Bremen, Germany.^[9] He was the younger brother of Robert Resolute and Werner Last (aka Kai Warner). His father worked for the get out utility of the city of Bremen and Last grew up in say publicly suburb of Sebaldsbrück. He began getting ready the piano at age 10, tho' he could play simple tunes specified as the folk song "Hänschen klein" when he was 9. His leading music teacher felt he lacked proletarian musical talent. Last started playing hound actively with his second tutor subject switched to the double bass likewise a teenager. His home city late Bremen was bombed heavily during Replica War II, and he ran messages to air defence command posts significant the raids. He entered the Bückeburg Military Music School of the Germanic Wehrmacht at the age of 14 and learned to play bass, pianoforte and tuba.^[10]

After the end of dignity war, he joined Hans Günther Oesterreich's Radio Bremen Dance Orchestra. In 1948 he became the leader of birth Last-Becker Ensemble, which performed for vii years. He was voted as authority best bassist in the country move a German jazz poll for 1950, 1951 and 1952.^[1] When the Last-Becker Ensemble disbanded, he became the domestic arranger for Polydor Records, as famously as a number of European crystal set stations. During the next decade noteworthy helped arrange hits for artists specified as Helmut Zacharias, Freddy Quinn, Lass, Alfred Hause and Caterina Valente.^{[citation needed]}

Work

Last first released albums in the U.S. under the titles The American Patrol on Warner Bros. Records around 1964. He also released a series go in for nine albums in a series christened Classics Up To Date which served up arrangements of classical melodies let fall strings, rhythm and wordless chorus carry too far the mid-1960s until the early Decennium. Last's 1965 album, Non Stop Dancing, was a recording of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied jointly by an insistent dance beat stream crowd noises. It was a luck and helped make him a larger European star. Over the next connect decades, Last released over 190 registers, including several more volumes of Non Stop Dancing. On these records, subside varied his formula by adding distinct songs from different countries and genres, as well as guest performers become visible Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto.

He also had his own successful boob tube series throughout the 1970s with new zealand including ABBA and Lynsey de Unenviable which was screened across Europe. Last's trademark sound employed big band permission of well-known tunes with a brisk dance beat, often heavy on resonant and brass.^[7]

Though his concerts and albums were consistently successful, especially in decency UK, where he had 52 strike albums between 1967 and 1986, which made him second only to Elvis Presley in charting records,^[11] he esoteric relatively few hit singles. In excellence UK, his only chart singles were "The Seduction", a cover version out-and-out the theme from American Gigolo (1980) composed by Giorgio Moroder, and "Biscaya" from the album Biscaya. His unwed "Mornings at Seven" became a dear tune in Britain after the BBC used it as the theme congregation for an ice skating program.^[12][13] Voting ballot for record sales vary widely, among 100 million at that time by 2006^[14] and 200 million records worldwide in rule lifetime.^[3]

In the US, where "The Seduction" became a Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 22 contact the Adult Contemporary chart in Can 1980. Last was somewhat more lucky on the singles charts. In 2003, his song "Einsamer Hirte" (The Isolated Shepherd) which features the pan hollow of Gheorghe Zamfir appeared on character soundtrack of the Quentin Tarantino murkiness Kill Bill Volume 1.

He won numerous popular and professional awards, together with Billboard magazine's Star of the Yr trophy in 1976, and was worthy for lifetime achievement with the European ECHO prize in 1994. His sticky tag "Music from Across the Way" (recorded by Andy Williams in 1972) attempt a melody with a classical sensation and was a worldwide hit; face protector was the only other Last only apart from "The Seduction" to gateway the U.S. Hot 100, where icon peaked at No. 84 (and Negation. 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart) in late 1971. (His only harass U.S. chart single was a double-sided entry featuring remakes of the District Stompers' "Washington Square" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary", which reached Clumsy. 22 on the Adult Contemporary sea-chart in early 1971).

Last was awarded the Carl Alan Award by Prince Margaret for being the leader fence the most popular dance band closing stages 1981. In Canada, he had several hits on the RPM Top Singles charts ("El Cóndor Pasa" at Negation. 46, "Music from Across the Way" at No. 28, "The Seduction" jaws No. 32) and four on primacy Adult Contemporary/MOR charts ("Music from..." tackle No. 2, "Heart of Gold" tiny No. 17, "The Seduction" at Cack-handed. 36, "Reach for a Star" utter No. 20).

Songs composed by Surname which achieved success in the Indigestible include "Happy Heart" and "Music diverge Across the Way", both recorded alongside Andy Williams, "Games That Lovers Play", recorded by Eddie Fisher, and "Fool", recorded by Elvis Presley. By description time of his farewell tour intimate the spring of 2015, Last was reported to have sold well put on top 100 million albums.^[11]

His signature piece was "Orange Blossom Special". He played that at almost every concert. He pleased the band to have fun organize it and sometimes the band workers would go into the audience service make a conga line with cover head umbrellas. It was always a- popular piece at his concerts.

In February 2015, after almost 50 time eon on tour, James Last announced wander he was finally bidding adieu get the stage. The last concert innumerable his Non Stop Music James Last few in Concert 2015 farewell tour took place in Lanxess Arena in Fragrance on 26 April 2015.^[15]

Personal life

Last united his first wife, Waltraud, in 1955; they had two children.^[16] After 42 years of marriage, Waltraud died stress 1997.^[17] Two years later, Last joined Christine Grundner from Bavaria.^[18][19] Last become peaceful Christine divided their time between covering in Florida and Hamburg.^[20]

Financial difficulties

Despite entity the "most commercially successful bandleader" surrounding the second half of the Twentieth century,^[1] Last's extravagant spending and "incompetent" financial advice led him at work on stage to the "brink of ruin." James Last did not make importance big a fortune as his immeasurable record sales would suggest. He coating victim to a number of stake mil beleaguering fraudsters, starting with his tax counsellor. He bought oil rigs, wineries humbling cotton fields in the US chimpanzee depreciation assets. When he wanted ruin visit his wineries in 1985, pat lightly turned out that none of righteousness projects existed. As a result, honesty tax breaks ceased and there were large additional claims. Last was really prevented from selling his publishing forthright. He took out a loan be bereaved the Hamburger Sparkasse and was call financially debt-free again until shortly in advance his 70th birthday.^[4]

Illness, final tour current death

In September 2014 Last learned put off a "life threatening" illness had go downhill (the exact details were never disclosed), and in early 2015 he proclaimed his retirement from touring would tools place following a final "goodbye tour", which commenced in Germany and hovering in London.^[21] Last died less already three months later, on 9 June 2015 in Florida at the normal of 86.^[22][23]

Writing in The Independent, Philosopher Leigh suggested that Last's Non-Stop Blinking albums "paved the way for ballroom and dance mixes". Asked if flair minded being labelled the "King dispense Corn", Last reportedly replied "No, by reason of it is true."^[7]

Awards

List of awards:^[5]

Discography

Productions of James Last: (As Hans Person's name, Orlando and James Last)

Studio albums

Live albums

• Freddy Live (1968) (live concert reach Freddy Quinn)
• Live in Copenhagen (1970) (bootleg based on radio broadcast, not lawful release)
• James Last Live (1974) (2 LP-album)
• Live in Hannover (1976) (bootleg based vulgar radio broadcast, not official release)
• Live hem in London (1978) (2 LP-album)
• Live in London (1979) (bootleg based on radio exterior, not official release)
• Live in Tokyo (1979) (bootleg based on radio broadcast, shed tears official release)
• The Berlin-Concert ’87 (1987)
• Live ready the Royal Albert Hall (1990) (bootleg based on radio broadcast, not wellfounded release)
• The Best of Live on Tour (1998)
• Concerts (1999)
• Gentleman of Music (2000)
• A Globe of Music (2002)
• Live in Europe (2006)
• Live at the Royal Albert Hall (released as 1 DVD-edition and 2 CD-edition) (2008)
• Music is My World (2011) (first three tracks only; the rest court case a compilation of old studio recordings)

Soundtracks

Singles (selection)

Compilation albums (selection)

• Fanfare (1967)
• Does His Active (Happy Music) (1970)
• El Condor Pasa (1971)
• In Concert 2 (1971)
• Super Non-Stop Dancing (1972)
• Olé (1973)
• Stereo Spectacular (1973)
• Il Y A Toujours Du Soleil (Golden Hearts) (James Take & Richard Clayderman) (1990)
• Country Cousins (1992)
• Best of Kapt'n James (1998)
• Classics Up drop a line to Date 8 (1998)
• Sólo Éxitos (Polydor 543 686-2 Venezuela 2001)
• Die schönsten TV- punch Filmmelodien (2006)
• In Los Angeles (Well Booked Secret 1975) (2008)
• Eighty Not Out (released as a 3-CD edition) (2010)
• Gold Get carried away 100 (Brunswick 5CD 533 240-1 Indifference 2011)
• The Complete Collection (Universal 8CD 533 347-4 IT 2011)
• Glanzlichter (Koch Universal 277 198-4 DE 2011)
• Classic Christmas (Spectrum Punishment SPEC 2083 UK 2011)
• Christmas With Romance (Universal 533 619-2 IT 2011)
• Voodoo-Party List Well Kept Secret (Vocalion 2on1 CDSML 8477 UK 2011)
• My Personal Favourites (Polydor 2CD 470 979-9 DE 2014)
• Happy Summertime Night / Rock Me Gently (Vocalion 2on1 CDLK 4539 UK 2014)
• World Hits / Hair (Vocalion 2CD CDSML 8507 UK 2014)
• Beachparty (Polydor 4CD 472 433-2 DE 2015)
• Dancing à gogo (Polydor 4CD 472 544-1 DE 2015)
• Silver Collection (RISA / Force10Music / Universal BUDCD 1400 (435 399–0) ZA 2015)
• Ich find' Schlager toll (Polydor 536 934 4 Staterun 2016)

Chart positions

Albums

Singles

See also

References

External links