"Little Green Bag" is a 1969 song written by Dutch musicians Jan Visser and George Baker (born Hans Bouwens), 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".[3][4]
| "Little Green Bag" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the 1969 Dutch single | ||||
| Single by George Baker Selection | ||||
| from the album Little Green Bag | ||||
| B-side | "Pretty Little Dreamer" | |||
| Released | October 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 at Eclipse Studios, Netherlands | |||
| Genre | Pop rock,[1] soft rock[2] | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | Negram | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Luke Wiley | |||
| George Baker Selection singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background edit
The track's original title was "Little Greenback",[5] which is slang for a US dollar. However, the single was given the erroneous title "Little Green Bag", which some took to be a "bag of marijuana". The lyrics of the song add to the belief that it is about marijuana, since it describes quite similarly the confusion of trying to find the bag. The "Little Green Bag" title was then retained for all subsequently released versions of the single, as well as the group's 1970 debut album, also titled Little Green Bag.[4]
The single peaked at No. 9 on the Dutch Top 40 singles chart and No. 3 in Belgium. In the United States, the single reached No. 16 in the middle of 1970 on the Cashbox chart and No. 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 1992, when the song was used in Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs with song writers cited as Jan Gerbrand Visser and Benjamino Bouwens, it became an international cult classic. Also that year, the song reached No. 1 in Japan after being used in a Japanese whiskey commercial.[3][6]
Charts edit
| Chart (1969–70) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia[7] | 12 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] | 3 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[9] | 12 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] | 9 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] | 6 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] | 16 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[13] | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14] | 21 |
| US Top 100 (Cash Box)[15] | 16 |
Cover versions edit
- In 1970, the group I Punti Cardinali released a version titled "La borsetta verde".
- In 1970, Quebec singer Bobby Le Clerc recorded a French cover titled "C'est pourquoi".
- In 1970, the Italian singer Nada recorded an Italian-language version with translated lyrics by Luigi Albertelli under the title "Un passatempo".
- In 1999, Tom Jones released a cover version of the song recorded with Canadian band the Barenaked Ladies, on his album Reload.[3]
- In 2007, The Ventures released a version on their album The Ventures – Rocky!
- In 2008, meg released a version on her album "Serpent".
- In 2012, Garou recorded a cover for his album Rhythm and Blues.
- In 2019, Cinemax / HBO Max's Warrior (Season 1, Episode 10) features a partial Cantonese cover before the closing credits. Visuals are an homage to "Reservoir Dogs" opening credits. Musical artist is uncertain.
- In 2023, the spanish talent show Operación Triunfo covered this song with contestants Paul and Martin.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. Paloma Blanca at AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
- ^ Johnstone, Andrew (6 February 2015). "A General Guide to Soft Rock". Rip It Up. Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
- ^ a b c "George Baker biography". hollandrocks.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
- ^ a b "Various worldwide releases of the George Baker Selection single, "Little Green Bag"". 45cat.com. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Little Green Bag". Songfacts.com.
- ^ "George Baker Biography". Georgebaker.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
- ^ "Top 100 Singles". www.poparchives.com.au.
- ^ "George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – George Baker Selection" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5120." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "George Baker Selection". Flavour of New Zealand.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2006. Record Research. p. 56. ISBN 9780898201727.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending May 16, 1970".
External links edit
- Lyrics of Little Green Bag from Metrolyrics.com (copy archived March 30, 2020)