June 09 - James Last Died

Big band leader James Last has died aged 86 at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. The German-born musician sold 80 million records with his James Last Orchestra adapting pop hits to big band arrangements. He pioneered what became known as "Happy Sound". In a statement, his manager said: "Mr Last passed away yesterday (June 9, 2015) in Florida, peacefully and in the presence of his family."

In the UK alone, he had 52 hit albums between 1967 and 1986, cementing him in the record books as the second-best selling artist of all time, behind Elvis Presley. Last said he was proud that Elvis Presley recorded his own composition "Fool".

(Source: Telegraph)