MUSICIAN
James Last
1929 - 2015

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. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. James Last is the 165th most popular musician (down from 154th in 2019), the 808th most popular biography from Germany (down from 772nd in 2019) and the 8th most popular German Musician.
James Last was a German pianist and composer who was most famous for his easy listening piano music.
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Among MUSICIANS
Among musicians, James Last ranks 165 out of 3,175. Before him are Fernando Sor, Franz Berwald, A. R. Rahman, Ritchie Valens, Steve Howe, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. After him are Charley Patton, Joseph Joachim, Pete Best, Lenny Kravitz, Ravi Shankar, and Duff McKagan.
Most Popular Musicians in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsFernando Sor
1778 - 1839
HPI: 69.88
Rank: 159
Franz Berwald
1796 - 1868
HPI: 69.80
Rank: 160
A. R. Rahman
1966 - Present
HPI: 69.70
Rank: 161
Ritchie Valens
1941 - 1959
HPI: 69.67
Rank: 162
Steve Howe
1947 - Present
HPI: 69.64
Rank: 163
Vladimir Ashkenazy
1937 - Present
HPI: 69.55
Rank: 164
James Last
1929 - 2015
HPI: 69.50
Rank: 165
Charley Patton
1891 - 1934
HPI: 69.47
Rank: 166
Joseph Joachim
1831 - 1907
HPI: 69.47
Rank: 167
Pete Best
1941 - Present
HPI: 69.42
Rank: 168
Lenny Kravitz
1964 - Present
HPI: 69.41
Rank: 169
Ravi Shankar
1920 - 2012
HPI: 69.34
Rank: 170
Duff McKagan
1964 - Present
HPI: 69.34
Rank: 171
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1929, James Last ranks 58. Before him are Christa Wolf, Nureddin al-Atassi, Ivar Giaever, Milorad Pavić, Bruno Cremer, and John Cassavetes. After him are Jean Simmons, Bill Evans, Zoltán Czibor, Günter Schabowski, Gudrun Burwitz, and Gerald Edelman. Among people deceased in 2015, James Last ranks 44. Before him are Eduardo Galeano, Alcides Ghiggia, Wes Craven, Benedict Anderson, Douglass North, and Fatema Mernissi. After him are Colleen McCullough, René Girard, Günter Schabowski, Yitzhak Navon, Yevgeny Primakov, and Boris Nemtsov.
Others Born in 1929
Go to all RankingsChrista Wolf
WRITER
1929 - 2011
HPI: 70.12
Rank: 52
Nureddin al-Atassi
POLITICIAN
1929 - 1992
HPI: 70.05
Rank: 53
Ivar Giaever
PHYSICIST
1929 - 2025
HPI: 69.80
Rank: 54
Milorad Pavić
WRITER
1929 - 2009
HPI: 69.60
Rank: 55
Bruno Cremer
ACTOR
1929 - 2010
HPI: 69.59
Rank: 56
John Cassavetes
ACTOR
1929 - 1989
HPI: 69.59
Rank: 57
James Last
MUSICIAN
1929 - 2015
HPI: 69.50
Rank: 58
Jean Simmons
ACTOR
1929 - 2010
HPI: 69.28
Rank: 59
Bill Evans
MUSICIAN
1929 - 1980
HPI: 69.26
Rank: 60
Zoltán Czibor
SOCCER PLAYER
1929 - 1997
HPI: 69.24
Rank: 61
Günter Schabowski
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2015
HPI: 69.19
Rank: 62
Gudrun Burwitz
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2018
HPI: 69.19
Rank: 63
Gerald Edelman
BIOLOGIST
1929 - 2014
HPI: 69.05
Rank: 64
Others Deceased in 2015
Go to all RankingsEduardo Galeano
WRITER
1940 - 2015
HPI: 70.18
Rank: 38
Alcides Ghiggia
SOCCER PLAYER
1926 - 2015
HPI: 70.14
Rank: 39
Wes Craven
FILM DIRECTOR
1939 - 2015
HPI: 70.06
Rank: 40
Benedict Anderson
POLITICAL SCIENTIST
1936 - 2015
HPI: 69.90
Rank: 41
Douglass North
ECONOMIST
1920 - 2015
HPI: 69.84
Rank: 42
Fatema Mernissi
WRITER
1940 - 2015
HPI: 69.53
Rank: 43
James Last
MUSICIAN
1929 - 2015
HPI: 69.50
Rank: 44
Colleen McCullough
WRITER
1937 - 2015
HPI: 69.36
Rank: 45
René Girard
PHILOSOPHER
1923 - 2015
HPI: 69.32
Rank: 46
Günter Schabowski
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2015
HPI: 69.19
Rank: 47
Yitzhak Navon
POLITICIAN
1921 - 2015
HPI: 69.16
Rank: 48
Yevgeny Primakov
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2015
HPI: 68.88
Rank: 49
Boris Nemtsov
POLITICIAN
1959 - 2015
HPI: 68.60
Rank: 50
In Germany
Among people born in Germany, James Last ranks 808 out of 7,253. Before him are Georg Ernst Stahl (1659), Wilhelm Cuno (1876), Princess Louise of Prussia (1838), David Strauss (1808), Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840), and Otto I, Duke of Bavaria (1120). After him are Rudolf Otto (1869), Georg Jellinek (1851), Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony (1722), Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1700), Peter Kürten (1883), and Hugo Sperrle (1885).
Others born in Germany
Go to all RankingsGeorg Ernst Stahl
CHEMIST
1659 - 1734
HPI: 69.52
Rank: 802
Wilhelm Cuno
POLITICIAN
1876 - 1933
HPI: 69.52
Rank: 803
Princess Louise of Prussia
POLITICIAN
1838 - 1923
HPI: 69.52
Rank: 804
David Strauss
PHILOSOPHER
1808 - 1874
HPI: 69.52
Rank: 805
Richard von Krafft-Ebing
PHYSICIAN
1840 - 1902
HPI: 69.52
Rank: 806
Otto I, Duke of Bavaria
POLITICIAN
1120 - 1183
HPI: 69.51
Rank: 807
James Last
MUSICIAN
1929 - 2015
HPI: 69.50
Rank: 808
Rudolf Otto
PHILOSOPHER
1869 - 1937
HPI: 69.50
Rank: 809
Georg Jellinek
POLITICAL SCIENTIST
1851 - 1911
HPI: 69.49
Rank: 810
Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony
POLITICIAN
1722 - 1763
HPI: 69.47
Rank: 811
Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
POLITICIAN
1700 - 1770
HPI: 69.47
Rank: 812
Peter Kürten
EXTREMIST
1883 - 1931
HPI: 69.46
Rank: 813
Hugo Sperrle
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1885 - 1953
HPI: 69.46
Rank: 814
Among MUSICIANS In Germany
Among musicians born in Germany, James Last ranks 8. Before him are Leopold Mozart (1719), Till Lindemann (1963), Hans von Bülow (1830), Frank Farian (1941), Rudolf Schenker (1948), and Carlos Kleiber (1930). After him are Wilhelm Kempff (1895), Klaus Nomi (1944), André Previn (1929), Friedrich Kalkbrenner (1784), Florian Schneider (1947), and Michael Schenker (1955).
Leopold Mozart
1719 - 1787
HPI: 77.16
Rank: 2
Till Lindemann
1963 - Present
HPI: 71.29
Rank: 3
Hans von Bülow
1830 - 1894
HPI: 71.04
Rank: 4
Frank Farian
1941 - 2024
HPI: 70.40
Rank: 5
Rudolf Schenker
1948 - Present
HPI: 70.20
Rank: 6
Carlos Kleiber
1930 - 2004
HPI: 69.96
Rank: 7
James Last
1929 - 2015
HPI: 69.50
Rank: 8
Wilhelm Kempff
1895 - 1991
HPI: 68.78
Rank: 9
Klaus Nomi
1944 - 1983
HPI: 67.93
Rank: 10
André Previn
1929 - 2019
HPI: 65.72
Rank: 11
Friedrich Kalkbrenner
1784 - 1849
HPI: 65.69
Rank: 12
Florian Schneider
1947 - 2020
HPI: 65.45
Rank: 13
Michael Schenker
1955 - Present
HPI: 65.32
Rank: 14