George Baker Selection

Last updated

George Baker Selection
George Baker Selection - TopPop 1974 4.png
George Baker Selection in 1974
Background information
Also known asSoul Invention
Origin Assendelft, Netherlands
Genres
Years active
  • 1967 (1967)–1978 (1978)
  • 1982 (1982)–1989 (1989)
Labels Negram  [ nl ]
Past members George Baker
Henk Kramer
Jacques Greuter
Jan Visser
George Thé
Jan Hop
Martin Schoen
Lida Bond
Website georgebaker.com

George Baker Selection was a pop-rock band from Assendelft, the Netherlands. The band is best-known for the 1969 song "Little Green Bag"; the 1975 world-wide hit "Paloma Blanca" (one of the most played songs in history), and the 1985 Pan European hit "Santa Lucia by Night".

Contents

History

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 magazine chart 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 GeorgeBakerSelection1970.jpg
1 Million copies sold of Little Green Bag

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbum [6] Peak Chart Positions
NLD
[7]
AUT
[8]
GER
[9]
SWE
[10]
1970 Little Green Bag
Love in the World
1972Now
Holy Day
1974Hot Baker2
1975Paloma Blanca1413
A Song for You115
Morning Sky - Mein Lied für Sie22
1976River Song14330
So Lang die Sonne Scheint
1977Summer Melody2
1983Paradise Island28
1985Santa Lucia by Night4
1987Viva America8
1988From Russia with Love81
"—" denotes an extended play that did not chart or was not released.

Compilations

Singles

YearSinglePeak
positions
Album
NL
[11]
AUS BE
(Fl)

[12]
CAN CAN AC GER
[13]
NZ
[14]
UK
[15]
US
[16]
US
AC
US Country
1969"Little Green Bag"9123161521Little Green Bag
1970"Dear Ann"23711293
"Midnight"1214Love In The World
"Over and Over"77
"I Wanna Love You"103
1971"Nathalie"1116Now!
"Mama Oh Mama"921
1972"Holy Day"101131
"I'm On My Way"7233
"Marie-Jeanne"994914
1973"Morning Light"20Hot Baker [17]
"Drink Drink Drink"1819
1974"Baby Blue"829301
"(Fly Away) Little Paraquayo"22
"Sing A Song Of Love"11
1975"Paloma Blanca"121101111026133Paloma Blanca
"Rose Marie"35
"Morning Sky"11219A Song for You
1976"Wild Bird"35725River Song
"Silver"34
1977"Mañana (Mi amor)"514Summer Melody
"Beautiful Rose"3324
1982"When We're Dancing"23Paradise Island
1983"The Wind (Ay, Ay, Ay, Maria)"1931
1985"Santa Lucia by Night"71231Santa Lucia by Night
"Manolito"30
1987"Viva America"25Viva America
"Bella Maria"37
"—" denotes an extended play that did not chart or was not released.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shocking Blue</span> Dutch rock band

Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in The Hague in 1967. They were part of the Nederbeat movement in the Netherlands. The band had a string of hit songs during the counterculture movement of the 1960s and early 1970s, including "Send Me a Postcard" and "Venus", which became their biggest hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and many other countries during 1969 and 1970. The band sold 13.5 million records by 1973 but disbanded in 1974. Together with Golden Earring they are considered the most successful Nederbeat-band, if the criterion is scoring hits abroad and especially in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Earring</span> Dutch rock band

Golden Earring was a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as The Tornados. They achieved worldwide fame with their international hit songs "Radar Love" in 1973, which went to number one on the Dutch chart, reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, and went to number thirteen on the United States chart, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. During their career they had nearly 30 top-ten singles on the Dutch charts and released 25 studio albums.

The Belle Stars were an all female British pop/rock band. Formed in 1980, they are best known for their 1983 hit single "Sign of the Times" as well as their cover of "Iko Iko" originally released in 1982 and featured on the soundtrack to the film Rain Man in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Baker (Dutch singer)</span> Musical artist

Johannes "Hans" Bouwens, known as George Baker, is a Dutch singer and songwriter who, with his band George Baker Selection, scored three international hits; "Little Green Bag" (1969), "Paloma Blanca" (1975) and "Santa Lucia by Night" (1985).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teach-In (band)</span> 1970s Dutch band

Teach-In was a Dutch band active from 1967 until 1980. After scoring several top 20 hits in their home country by the early 1970s, the band came to international attention by winning the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ding-a-dong”. Throughout the band's career, there were several changes in line-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nits (band)</span> Dutch pop group

Nits are a Dutch pop group founded in 1974. Their musical style has varied considerably over the years, as has their line-up with the core of Henk Hofstede, Rob Kloet, drummer, and Robert Jan Stips, keyboards.

Diesel is a Dutch pop/rock group that became one of the relatively few Dutch acts to chart in the U.S. when their song "Sausalito Summernight" entered the U.S. Top 40 in 1981.

<i>Switch</i> (Golden Earring album) 1975 studio album by Golden Earring

Switch is the tenth album by Dutch rock band Golden Earring, released in 1975.

<i>One on One</i> (Cheap Trick album) 1982 studio album by Cheap Trick

One on One is Cheap Trick's sixth studio album, and seventh release in general. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, it was released in 1982 via Epic Records and was the first Cheap Trick album to feature their new bassist Jon Brant.

"Remember Me"/"I Am a Cider Drinker" was a split single released by British Sea Power and The Wurzels. The 7" single features The Wurzels covering BSP's "Remember Me" and BSP covering The Wurzels' 1976 hit "I Am a Cider Drinker". The release was limited to 1,966 and only available on BSP's November 2005 tour or through their official website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Green Bag</span> 1969 single by George Baker Selection

"Little Green Bag" is a 1969 song written by Dutch musicians Jan Visser and George Baker, and recorded by the George Baker Selection at the band's own expense. The track was released as the George Baker Selection's debut single by Dutch label Negram, the B-side being "Pretty Little Dreamer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twilight Zone (Golden Earring song)</span> 1982 single by Golden Earring

"Twilight Zone" is a 1982 hit by Dutch band Golden Earring. It was written by the band's guitarist George Kooymans, who drew inspiration from the book The Bourne Identity. "Twilight Zone" appears on their 1982 album Cut and pays tribute to the 1960s television series The Twilight Zone. It spent more than half a year on the US Pop charts. It was the group's sole Top 10 Pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart, the band's only No. 1 hit in America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zen (Dutch band)</span>

Zen was a Dutch rock band, founded by Siegfried 'Siebe' de Jong and Dirk van der Ploeg in 1965. Van der Ploeg was the songwriter for the band, but the band underwent numerous changes in its line-up in its existence. The hippie-oriented one hit wonder band hit the top spot on the Dutch Top 40 singles chart in January 1969, with their version of the theme song from the musical Hair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tee-Set</span> Dutch pop rock band

Tee-Set was a pop rock band formed in 1965 by singer Peter Tetteroo in Delft, Netherlands. The band is best-known for their single "Ma Belle Amie", which was a No. 5 hit in the United States and No. 3 in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paloma Blanca</span> 1975 single by George Baker Selection

"Paloma Blanca", often called "Una Paloma Blanca", is a song written by Dutch musician George Baker and first recorded and released by his band, George Baker Selection. The single—the title track of the group's fifth album—was released in 1975 with "Dreamboat" as its B-side. The song was a hit throughout Europe, reaching No. 1 in Austria, Finland, Flanders, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland, and it also topped the charts of New Zealand and South Africa.

<i>Little Green Bag</i> (album) 1970 studio album by George Baker Selection

Little Green Bag is the 1970 debut album by the Dutch rock band George Baker Selection. It attracted additional attention after Quentin Tarantino used the title track on his movie Reservoir Dogs.

"Beautiful Rose" is a 1977 hit song written by Hans Bouwens, performed by the Dutch band George Baker Selection, which was No.1 on the all-Europe pop chart European Hot 100 Singles. It was taken from the album Summer Melody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Affair (band)</span> English band

Love Affair were a London-based pop and progressive rock group formed in 1966. The group had several UK Singles Chart top 10 hits, including the number one success, "Everlasting Love".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bintangs</span> Dutch rhythm and blues band

The Bintangs are a Dutch rhythm and blues band. Founded in 1961 in Beverwijk as an indorock band, they soon began playing a rougher, rhythm and blues-inflected style. The band had a four-year hiatus in the 1980s but reunited and are still active. The band has gone through many members, with Frank Kraaijeveld as a constant element. They scored one hit, in 1970, and though commercial success has eluded them nationally and internationally they remain a popular live act.

"Santa Lucia By Night" is a 1985 song written by Dutch musician George Baker and first recorded and released by his band, George Baker Selection. The single of the group's thirteenth same name studio album—was released with instrumental version at the B-side.

References

  1. Soul Invention at "Zaanse Pophistory (in Dutch)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Weekartiest: George Baker Selection" (in Dutch). NPO Radio 5 . Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 "George Baker Biography". www.georgebaker.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  4. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p.  273. ISBN   0-214-20512-6.
  5. George Baker (Selection) at "Zaanse Pophistory (in Dutch)
  6. "George Baker Discography". www.georgebaker.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  7. "George Baker Selection". Dutch Charts.
  8. "George Baker Selection". Austrian Charts.
  9. "George Baker Selection". Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
  10. "George Baker Selection". Swedish Charts.
  11. "George Baker Selection". Top 40.
  12. "George Baker Selection". Ultratop.
  13. "George Baker Selection". Offizielle Deutsche Charts.
  14. "George Baker Selection". Flavour of New Zealand.
  15. "George Baker Selection". The Official Charts Company.
  16. Whitburn, Joel (2011). Top Pop Singles 1955–2010. Record Research, Inc. p. 56. ISBN   978-0-89820-188-8.
  17. "Album: Hot Baker (1974) – Official George Baker website". Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2014.