George Baker Selection

Blues Magoos

Quick Silver Messenger
Service

George Baker, Holland's most successful singer and songwriter

George Baker (born Johannes Bouwens, December 8, 1944, Hoorn, Netherlands) is a Dutch singer and songwriter.

In 1967, Bouwens joined the band Soul Invention, which later changed its name to "George Baker Selection." Their first album, Little Green Bag (1970), gave them their first great hit. Little Green Bag is a psychedelic rock-style tune. This disc sold over one million copies globally, and received a gold disc. By 1972 the band had sold over 5 million records.

Their fifth album Paloma Blanca was released in 1975, and the single "Paloma Blanca" reached #1 in the charts in several countries.

While George was still working on a production line in a lemonade factory, the song reached number five in the US Billboard Top 100. George: "We had a band, we hada world wide hit single, we just didn't have a manager. Then Jaap Buys from Volendam announced himself saying: 'You're nice kids, but you're in one big mess business-wise.'" Jaap cleaned up the mess and led by magic duo Baker and Buys, the success of George Baker Selection was pushed to great heights. Top of their success was the single 'Una Paloma Blanca', which appeared in 1975.

The band experienced a brief return to the international charts in 1992, when the song "Little Green Bag" was used in the film Reservoir Dogs, and a Chilean soap opera.

On a regular basis one of George Baker's hit singles returns in the top charts.
'Little Green Bag' was again a big hit in 1999, after it was used as the title song on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's movie Reservoir Dogs. Following this success, 'Little Green Bag' was also used for a Japanese commercial of a well-known brand of whiskey. The overwhelming reactions to this commercial made the record label decide to re-release the single and the entire album. After this, advertising agencies in France, Scandinavia and Italy used 'Little Green Bag' in commercials, resulting in an international hit single 30 years after the first release of the song.

George: "I'll never forget the moment when young Lex Harding (a famous Ditch radio DJ) announced our record with the words: 'Next up, a new band with their first excellent single "Little Green Bag". Let's hope it won't be a one-hit wonder'. Soon it turned out that George was a great addition to the band, both as singer and song writer: 'Little Green Bag' became a hit single around the world in record pace.

Vet Hard
In 2005 a remake of Una Paloma Blanca was used in the Dutch blockbuster movie Vet Hard. The song again appeared in several countries' top charts.

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 1985, which stayed together until 1989. The band has released twelve albums and several compilation albums.

After the George Baker Selection split up in 1978, Baker performed as a solo artist until 1985, when he briefly returned with a new George Baker Selection. Since 1989 he is a solo artist again. In 2005 he released a remix of the song "Una Paloma Blanca" for the film Too Fat Too Furious. As a solo artist, he has released nine albums.

Una Paloma Blanca' was a hit single that reaching the number one position in almost every country's hit charts, and sold about nine million copies. This immediately confirmed the reputation of the band, it's producer and George's role as a singer and song writer.

'Una Paloma Blanca' as well as 'Little Green Bag' are world wide evergreens. Big hits like 'Morning Sky', 'Wild Bird' and 'Manana' followed,
until in 1978 it all came to a sudden halt. The band broke up after selling over twenty million records and having performed thousands of The George Baker Selection

times.

George looks back on that period: "The pressure and expectations were too high for any regular person to handle". Where most artists would retire and live a quiet life after so many successes, George's carreer was far from over: while the other band members moved to other bands, George fired up his solo carreer scoring big hits all over the world with songs like 'Rosita', 'Sing for the day', 'All my love' and 'Magdalena'.

In the early eighties George dropped off the radar for a while, partially caused by his move to Spain. Still he continued to make great records, like 'Wild Flower' and 'The Winds of Time'. In 1985 George returned to Holland to start a new Selection. The new band was a success right away: they scored a big hit with the song 'Santa Lucia by night'. New gold records and tours followed, until the second Selection broke up in 1989. George decided to only focus on his solo career from that moment on.

Late 2007 George Baker started his long awaited anniversary tour: 40 Years Greatest Hits. George accompanied by his band 'Tilt' visited the various Dutch theatres during a tour that lasted several months.

In his theatre tour George Baker plays his hits. "The theatre feels like a warm bath to me. Everything can be set up under optimal conditions: light, sound. Performing in a theatre makes me feel like a fish in the water", says George Baker.

At this time George is hard at work in his recording studio. Keep an eye on his website to stay informed on future George Baker releases (2009?).

George Baker Selection Discography
1970 - 2005
Click album button to see larger image and song list

The Albums

DVD

Singles

Title: Little Green Bag Artist: George Baker Selection Release: October 1969 Type: Single	Single: Dear Ann (1970) Title: Dear Ann Artist: George Baker Selection Release: February 1970 Type: Single	Single: Midnight (1970) Title: Midnight Artist: George Baker Selection Release: July 1970 Type: Single	Single: Over and over (1970) Title: Over and over Artist: George Baker Selection Release: November 1970 Type: Single	Single: Nathalie / Jesus Told Us (1971) Title: Nathalie Artist: George Baker Selection Release: March 1971 Type: Single	Single: Tonight/Suzanna (1971) Title: Tonight Artist: George Baker Selection Release: July 1971 Type: Single
Single: Mama oh mama/1954 (1971) Title: Mama oh mama Artist: George Baker Selection Release: November 1971 Type: Single	Single: Holy Day/Where Is My Baby Tonight (1972) Title: Holy Day Artist: George Baker Selection Release: March 1972 Type: Single	Single: The Prisoner (1972) Title: The Prisoner Artist: George Baker Selection Release: June 1972 Type: Single The single 'The Prisoner' came from the album 'George Baker Selection', which was released in 1971. The single was released on a 7" single in 1972 by record label Negram. The B-side of this single featured either 'Little Green Bag' or 'Dear Ann'.	Single: I'm on my way/Marian (1972) Title: I'm on my way Artist: George Baker Selection Release: August 1972 Type: Single	Single: Marie Jeanne/Mademoiselle (1972) Title: Marie Jeanne Artist: George Baker Selection Release: December 1972 Type: Single	Single: Morning Light (1973) Title: Morning Light Artist: George Baker Selection Release: May 1973 Type: Single
Single: Drink, Drink, Drink / Down By The Riverside (1973) Title: Drink, Drink, Drink Artist: George Baker Selection Release: September 1973 Type: Single	Single: Baby Blue/Catherine (1974) Title: Baby Blue Artist: George Baker Selection Release: January 1974 Type: Single	Single: (Fly Away) Little Paraguayo/We'll Make It Right Someday (1974) Title: (Fly Away) Little Paraguayo Artist: George Baker Selection Release: May 1974 Type: Single	Single: Sing a Song of Love/I've Been Away Too Long (1974) Title: Sing a Song of Love Artist: George Baker Selection Release: October 1974 Type: Single	Single: Merry Christmas (1974) Title: Merry Christmas Artist: George Baker Selection & Fungus Release: December 1974 Type: Single This single was produced together with folk rock group Fungus. George Baker Selection composed the A-side of this single; the song Merry Christmas. The single's B-features the song Christmas Song by Fungus.	Single: Una Paloma Blanca (1975) Title: Una Paloma Blanca Artist: George Baker Selection Release: March 1975 Type: Single
Single: Morning Sky/Don't Forget Me (1975) Title: Morning Sky Artist: George Baker Selection Release: October 1975 Type: Single	Single: Wild Bird / If You Understand (1976) Title: Wild Bird Artist: George Baker Selection Release: August 1976 Type: Single	Single: Mañana (mi amor) (1976) Title: Mañana (mi amor) Artist: George Baker Selection Release: November 1976 Type: Single	Single: Beautiful Rose/Jimmy (1977) Title: Beautiful Rose Artist: George Baker Selection Release: May 1977 Type: Single	Single: Marja (1977) Title: Marja Artist: George Baker Selection Release: August 1977 Type: Single	Single: Rosita (1978) Title: Rosita Artist: George Baker (first solo single) Release: March 1978 Type: Single
Single: Lonely Christmas Night/Jesus Will Carry My Soul (1978) Title: Lonely Christmas Night Artist: George Baker Selection Release: December 1978 Type: 7" Single	Single: Sing for the Day (1979) Title: Sing for the Day Artist: George Baker Release: May 1979 Type: Single	Single: Oh Magdalena (1979) Title: Oh Magdalena Artist: George Baker Release: September 1979 Type: Single	Single: Nino del Sol (1980) Title: Nino del Sol Artist: George Baker Release: July 1980 Type: Single	Single: All My Love/Benjamin (1980) Title: All My Love Artist: George Baker Release: November 1980 Type: Single	Single: You don't love me anymore/Daddy (1981) Title: You don't love me anymore Artist: George Baker Release: January 1981 Type: Single
Single: Love is the Sweetest Rose/It's Up To You (1982) Title: Love is the Sweetest Rose Artist: George Baker Release: January 1982 Type: Single	Single: Little Green Bag/The Prisoner (1982) Title: Little Green Bag Artist: George Baker Selection Release: March 1982 Type: Single	Single: Papillon (1982) Title: Papillon Artist: George Baker Release: May 1982 Type: Single	Single: When We're Dancing (1982) Title: When We're Dancing Artist: George Baker Release: November 1982 Type: Single	Single: The Wind (1983) Title: The Wind Artist: George Baker Release: February 1983 Type: Single	Single: Paradise Island (1983) Title Paradise Island Artist George Baker Release: March 1983 Type: Single
Single: Gipsy Woman (1983) Title: Gipsy Woman Artist: George Baker Release: June 1983 Type: Single	Single: Bye Bye My Love/Moonlight Serenade (1984) Title: Bye Bye My Love Artist: George Baker Release: April 1984 Type: Single	Single: How Can I Live Without Your Love/The Desert Song (1984) Title: How Can I Live Without Your Love Artist: George Baker Release: June 1984 Type: Single	Single: Santa Lucia By Night (1985) Title: Santa Lucia By Night Artist: George Baker Selection Release: July 1985 Type: Single	Single: Manolito/Maya (1985) Title: Manolito Artist: George Baker Selection Release: November 1985 Type: Single	Single: When You Learn to Fly (1986) Title: When You Learn to Fly Artist: George Baker Selection Release: February 1986 Type: Single
Single: True Love/Tell Me Why (1986) Title: True Love Artist: George Baker Selection Release: March 1986 Type: Single	Single: Viva America (1987) Title: Viva America Artist: George Baker Selection Release: June 1987 Type: Single	Single: Bella Maria / Save All Your Songs (1987) Title: Bella Maria Artist: George Baker Selection Release: October 1987 Type: Single	Single: Marie-Julie (1988) Title: Marie-Julie Artist: George Baker Selection Release: June 1988 Type: Single	Single: Que Viva Summer Holiday (1988) Title: Que Viva Summer Holiday Artist: George Baker Selection Release: September 1988 Type: Single	Single: So Sad (1989) Title: So Sad Artist: George Baker Selection Release: June 1989 Type: Single
Single: From Russia With Love / Do You Know (1990) Title From Russia With Love Artist George Baker Selection Release March 1990 Type Single	Single: Save All Your Lovesongs (1990) Title: Save All Your Lovesongs Artist: George Baker Selection Release: June 1990 Type: Single	Single: Love In Your Heart (1991) Title: Love In Your Heart Artist: George Baker Release: June 1991 Type: Single	Single: Marie-Louise (1991) Title: Marie-Louise Artist: George Baker Release: August 1991 Type: Single	Single: Fifty Nine (1992) Title: Fifty Nine Artist: George Baker Release: February 1992 Type: Single Type and year: CD-single, 1992 Label: CNR	Single: Pistolero (1992) Title: Pistolero Artist: George Baker Release: April 1992 Type: Single Type and year: CD-single, 1992 Label: CNR
Single: Little Green Bag (1999) Title: Little Green Bag Artist: George Baker Release: April 1999 Type: Single Little Green Bag was a hit single by George Baker Selection in 1969. In 1999 the single was republished after it was used on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's movie Reservoir Dogs.The single returned in the Dutch Top 40 for six weeks.	Single: Kingsize Coca Cola Man (1999) Title: Kingsize Coca Cola Man Artist: George Baker Release: June 1999 Type: Single This song was written by George Baker specially for the occasion of the album 'Dank U!' (Thank You!), which was published by Radio Veronica celebrating their ten year anniversary. All revenues of the album went to charity, to the Dutch Kidney Foundation.	Single: Als je iets kan doen (2005) Title: Als je iets kan doen Artist: George Baker Release: January 2005 Type: Single The single "Als je iets kan doen" was made by Artiesten voor Azië (Artists for Asia). The single's revenue went to a charity organisation to help the victims of Asias Tsunami disaster. The single held the number one position in the Dutch Top 40 for four weeks.	Single: Una Paloma Blanca (2005) Title: Una Paloma Blanca Artist: George Baker Release: February 2005 Type: Single This single featured on the soundtrack of the movie Vet Hard. The single was listed for eight weeks in the Dutch Top 40, where it reached 19th place.

| Disclaimers & legal shit with music ! |

FAIR USE NOTICE - ALL information on this website is for educational purposes ONLY This site contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We belive this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law.In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in recieving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to : http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for puposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

FREE SPEECH

While we are a drug free website (we are just burnt-out from past drug use that occurred years ago) and do not promote the use of illegal drugs, we are aware of the United States of America constitutional right of free speech. Therefore we support and are involved in the reform of marijuana laws.

REDNECKS exit to RedneckEnuff.com