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James Last
James Last is a German big band leader with a large fan base in Europe, although he has never had a comparable following in the United States. Last's trademark is 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 50 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 1946, when he was 17 years old. In 1948, he became the leader of the Becker-Last Ensemble, which performed for seven years. During that time, he was voted as the best bassist in the country by a German jazz poll for three consecutive years, from 1950-1952. After the disbandment of the Becker-Last Ensemble, he became the in-house arranger for Polydor Records, as well as for a number of European radio stations. For the next decade, he helped arrange hits for artists like Helmut Zacharias and Caterina Valente.
Last released his first album, Non-Stop Dancing, in 1965. The record of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied together by an insistent dance beat and joyous crowd noises. It was a hit and helped make him a major European star. Over the next two decades, Last released over 50 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 Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto.
Though his concerts and albums were consistently successful -- especially in England, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967-1986, which made him second to Elvis Presley in terms of number of charting records -- he only had one hit single with "The Seduction," the theme from American Gigolo (1980). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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 1946, when he was 17 years old. In 1948, he became the leader of the Becker-Last Ensemble, which performed for seven years. During that time, he was voted as the best bassist in the country by a German jazz poll for three consecutive years, from 1950-1952. After the disbandment of the Becker-Last Ensemble, he became the in-house arranger for Polydor Records, as well as for a number of European radio stations. For the next decade, he helped arrange hits for artists like Helmut Zacharias and Caterina Valente.
Last released his first album, Non-Stop Dancing, in 1965. The record of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied together by an insistent dance beat and joyous crowd noises. It was a hit and helped make him a major European star. Over the next two decades, Last released over 50 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 Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto.
Though his concerts and albums were consistently successful -- especially in England, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967-1986, which made him second to Elvis Presley in terms of number of charting records -- he only had one hit single with "The Seduction," the theme from American Gigolo (1980). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
Selected Discography
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Track List: Music Is My World
Disc 1
Disc 2
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Track List: Live At The Royal Albert Hall
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Track List: Music From Across The Way
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Track List: Spring Fling
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Track List: Songs From The Heart
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Track List: A World Of Music
Disc 1
Disc 2
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Track List: Gentleman Of Music
Disc 1
Disc 2
Comments
Jim London, NY
is this the james last of giant man fame?
and my Father was a pianoplayer in the berlin Band james Last music is al ways in my Heart Hope all is going better with your Haelth Inge from las vegas nv
I'm listening to Lying Eyes and it has a very nice sound. Mixing Pop styles with a full orchestra is something I haven't heard too often. Very nice.
It almost sounds like he talked to The Eagles and asked for their basic track on this to put an orchestrated version on it. The brass solos are very nice in this piece. Amazing to see how many different ways one piece can be produced.