James Last

James Last, also known as Hansi, 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.

17 April 1929

Born on the same birth day (17 April): Afrika Bambaataa • Bella Freud • Boomer Esiason • Demetrios Petrokokkinos • Emil Fuchs (baseball) • Frederik Magle • Gilles Lamontagne • Heidi Alexander • Henry Ian Cusick • J. P. Morgan • Lindsay Hartley • Liz Phair • Margot Honecker • Mikael Åkerfeldt • Norman Cowans • Samuel Chase • Sherrie Levine • Solly Hemus

Born in the same month (April 1929): Fred Hollows • Gerry Anderson • Gérald Beaudoin • Jeremy Thorpe • Joi Lansing • Mahmoud Mollaghasemi • Michael Atiyah • Nina Ponomaryova • Peter Sculthorpe • Poul Schlüter • Sharan Rani Backliwal