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In 1968, Hans Bouwens from Wormerveer joined the band "Soul Invention", a soul band that had been founded the previous year by Henk Kramer in Assendelft and played covers of songs by Otis Redding and Sam and Dave. The band consisted of Job Netten (guitar), Henk Kramer and Eric Bardoen (saxophone), Jacques Greuter (keyboard and flute), Theo Vermast and later Jan Visser (bass), and Ton Vredenburg (drums). Visser and Bouwens wrote the song "Little Greenback" (sic) in the summer of 1969.[1] The band recorded their first album in September 1969, after which, considering this was not soul music, they changed their name to "The George Baker Selection", Bouwens naming himself for a character from a detective novel.[2] This first album, Little Green Bag (1970), produced an immediate worldwide hit:[2] their debut single, "Little Green Bag," reached No. 16 on the Cash Box magazinechart and No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.[3] The success came as a surprise for Baker, who remembers hearing it on the radio while he was working in a lemonade factory.[2] The single sold over one million copies globally and received a gold disc.[4] A string of singles and albums followed; the second single, "Dear Ann," was such a success that Baker resigned from his job in the lemonade factory and became a full-time musician. Not all band members followed suit and, besides Bouwens, the "Selection" from mid 1970 was formed by Jan Visser, Jan Hop (drums), Jacques Greuter and George Thé (voice, guitar, bass). In March 1971 Jan Visser left the band to be replaced by Cor Veerman.[5] Besides scoring hits with his own Selection, Baker also wrote songs for others, including BZN, The Shoes, Andy Star, and Next One. In 1974, singer Lida Bond joined the Selection, and combining her voice with Baker's proved highly successful.[2]
Their fifth album, Paloma Blanca, was released in 1975, and the single "Paloma Blanca" reached No. 1 on charts in several countries. It sold more than seven million copies worldwide, making it one of the most successful Dutch singles ever.[2]
In 1978, the George Baker Selection split up because "the pressure had become too much." The band has sold over 20 million records worldwide. George Baker formed a new George Baker Selection in 1982, which stayed together until 1989.[3] The band has released twelve albums and several compilation albums.
The band experienced a brief return to the international charts in 1992 when the song "Little Green Bag" was used in the title sequence of the film Reservoir Dogs and in Machos, a Chilean soap opera in 2003. The song is also featured in a Moto X smartphone commercial circa 2013.
Members
1 million copies sold of Little Green Bag.
Hans Bouwens (as George Baker) (composer, vocals, guitar, mandolin, flute, piano and organ) 1968–1977, 1982–1989
Elly Bloothoofd (vocals, guitar) 1982–1989
Lida Jonkman-Bond (vocals) 1974–1977
Nelleke Brzoskowsky (vocals) 1982–1989
Willy Delano (vocals) 1977, 1982–1989
Pieter Goeman (organ and piano) 1982–1989
Jacques Greuter (vocals, organ, flute and piano) 1967–1982
Jan Hop (drums) 1969–77, 1983–1989
Henk Kramer (saxophone) 1967–1970
Nathalie Más (vocals) 1977–1982
Job Netten (guitar) 1967–1970
Martin Schoen (bass) 1974–1982
George Thé (vocals, guitar and bass) 1970–77, 1983–1989
