George Baker Selection - Songs

ABOUT

The George Baker Selection was a pop group from Holland that became famous during the early and mid 1970s. They are best known for the jaunty "Little Green Bag" (1970) and the sunny and exotic "Paloma Blanca" (1975).

The George Baker Selection's origins date back to 1968 when singer-songwriter George Baker (b. Johannes "Hans" Bouwens, December 8, 1944) joined Soul Invention, a covers band formed in 1967 by Henk Kramer in Assendelft that performed songs by Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. In 1969, Baker and Soul Invention bassist Jan Visser co-wrote "Little Green Bag" (originally titled "Little Greenback"), which became the title song to their debut album released the following year. Soon after, the band renamed itself The George Baker Selection to reflect their change to a more pop-oriented musical style. By 1970, after some personnel changes, the lineup consisted of Baker and Visser along with Jacques Greuter (vocals, organ, flute, piano), Jan Hop (drums), and George The (vocals, guitar, bass). Visser left in 1971 and was replaced by Cor Veerman (bass). Female singer Lida Jonkman-Bond joined the band in 1974.

The George Baker Selection debuted on the U.S. charts in early 1970 with "Little Green Bag," which reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 and soon after went gold. The band had two minor hits later that year with "Dear Ann" (1970) and "I Wanna Love You" (1970) before re-emerging several years later on the U.S. charts with their biggest hit worldwide, "Paloma Blanca" (1975, a.k.a. "Una Paloma Blanca"). Written by Baker, this smash made the Top 40 on both the Pop/Rock and Country charts and topped the Adult Contemporary chart. It also topped the charts in several other countries and sold over seven million copies worldwide.

In 1978, The George Baker Selection disbanded and was later reformed by Baker in 1982 with a new lineup. The band then split for good in 1989, and Baker continued as a solo artist. "Little Green Bag" had a resurgence in popularity in 1992 when it was used during the opening credits to the movie, "Reservoir Dogs."

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SONGS

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George Baker Selection

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