This iconic and haunting instrumental track – The Lonely Shepherd is strongly associated in modern times with the Quentin Tarantino movie Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003). It is the second piece to feature here from that movie’s soundtrack after Battle Without Honor or Humanity (2000) – Tomoyasu Hotei.
The following was extracted from Wikipedia:
Known originally in German as Einsamer Hirte or Der einsame Hirte, The Lonely Shepherd was composed by German composer James Last who is reported to have sold an estimated 200 million records worldwide in his lifetime. The Lonely Shepherd was first released in a recording with the Romanian panflutist Gheorghe Zamfir.
The Lonely Shepherd was published on Last’s 1977 album Memories of Russia (Russland Erinnerungen). In the same year, it was also released as a single, which reached number 22 in the music charts in Germany. With this recording, Gheorghe Zamfir, who had already published a number of records, succeeded in an international breakthrough. Among other things, he accompanied Last on his 1978 tour.
References:
1. The Lonely Shepherd – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Sorry, somehow I missed your post yesterday. James Last – a blast from the past! As you might imagine, he was quite popular in Germany. That said, I never paid much attention to Herr Last. But I have to admit this track is really beautiful!
If I had more time I wish I could have expanded on James Last’s tremendous impact on music and his stupendous catalogue.
I couldn’t believe how little love this track got on my blog even by my meagre readership. I imagine it’s because I mentioned the Kill Bill movie and some may not be down for Quentin.