Robert Last (1923

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

– 1986

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

) was a German

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

and

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

. The oldest brother of Werner Last (known as

Kai Warner Kai Warner was the stage name of Werner Last (27 October 1926 – 9 July 1982), a German bandleader and musician, and the brother of James Last and Robert Last, also musicians. Biography Born in Bremen, Warner took piano lessons from Ernst ...

) and Hans Last (known as

James Last James Last (, ; 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 ...

) played together with his brothers in the dance and entertainment orchestra of Radio Bremen, went to the USA in 1954 and studied drumming with

Sonny Igoe Owen Joseph "Sonny" Igoe (October 8, 1923 – March 28, 2012) was an American jazz drummer and music educator who, toured with the orchestras of Tommy Reed (1913–2012), Les Elgart, Ina Ray Hutton, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman from the mid- ...

, the drummer for

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

. Played, among other places, at the mirrored room of the Metropole Café on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

. He returned to Germany in 1960. Here he became the first drummer for the James Last Band and the Kai Warner Orchestra. He also played with

Helmut Zacharias Helmut Zacharias (27 January 192028 February 2002) was a German violinist and composer who created over 400 works and sold 14 million records. He also appeared in a number of films, usually playing musicians. Early life Helmut Zacharias was bor ...

Günther Fuhlisch Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from ''Gunthere, Gunthari'', composed of '' *gunþiz'' "battle" (Old Norse '' gunnr'') and ''heri, hari'' "army". Gu ...

and

Bert Kaempfert Bert Kaempfert (born ; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-kno ...

. To this day, many rank him as the best drummer ever to work with James Last and his brother Werner. In the early 1970s he started his own studio orchestra and put out a series of ''Happy Dancing'' albums on the

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

in Royal Sound Stereo label. His first LP was Non Stop Musical Party (DECCA SLK 16627-P). Other recordings: Happy Dancing 2/Non Stop Western Party, Happy Dancing 3/Non Stop Schiwago Party, Happy Dancing 4/Die aktuelle Non-Stop Hit Party, Happy Dancing 5/Die aktuelle Non-Stop Hit Party, Happy Dancing/28 unvergessene Melodien aus der Zwanzigern, Happy Dancing/28 unvergessene Melodien aus der Dreißigern. Robert continued to play with the bands of his brothers during the early 70s. In 1972, the James Last Band toured Australia, with resounding success. All of the musicians performed brilliantly all night.(about 3 hours, almost non-stop). But there was one standout artist---Robert Last on the drums. Robert brought the house down with his drum solo after the intermission. However, a dispute developed between himself and James Last over some questionable personal behaviour on Robert's part during a tour of South Africa, and Robert was fired from the James Last Band. In the 1980s he wanted to be independent, as he was apparently cheated by his producers. He continued to play with his brother Kai Warner's band until the latter's death in 1982. Despite the South Africa firing, Robert occasionally did session work with James Last, although he never re-joined the band full-time; James Last later said that if Robert had just spoken up and asked to be reinstated, he would have done so. Robert developed heart problems and died in 1986, a day after making amends with his younger brother.James Last, ''Mein Leben'', 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Last, Robert 1923 births 1986 deaths Musicians from Bremen (city) German drummers German male drummers 20th-century drummers 20th-century German male musicians Last-Becker Ensemble members 20th-century German musicians