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Little Green Bag

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"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"
ReleasedOctober 1969 (1969-10)
Recorded1969 at Eclipse Studios, Netherlands
GenreNederbeat, pop rock,[1] soft rock[2]
Length3:17
LabelNegram
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Luke Wiley
George Baker Selection singles chronology
"Little Green Bag"
(1969) 		"Dear Ann"
(1970)

"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]

Background

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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

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Chart (1969–70) Peak
position
Argentina (CAPIF) [7] 2
Australia[8] 12
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10] 12
Brazil[11] 24
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[12] 16
France (IFOP)[13] 48
Italy (Musica e dischi)[14] 13
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 6
New Zealand (Listener)[17] 15
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[18] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[19] 21
US Top 100 (Cash Box)[20] 16

Cover versions

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  • 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

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References

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  1. ^ Unterberger, Richie. Paloma Blanca at AllMusic. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c "George Baker biography". hollandrocks.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2004. Retrieved 26 May 2007.
  4. ^ a b "Various worldwide releases of the George Baker Selection single, "Little Green Bag"". 45cat.com. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Little Green Bag". Songfacts.com.
  6. ^ "George Baker Biography". Georgebaker.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  7. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 12 December 1970. p. 61. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Top 100 Singles". www.poparchives.com.au.
  9. ^ "George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  11. ^ Brazilian Singles Sales - Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. 24 June 1970.
  12. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5120." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  13. ^ "InfoDisc : Accès direct à ces Artistes > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 3 June 2024. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "George Baker".
  15. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – George Baker Selection" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  16. ^ "George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  17. ^ "George Baker Selection". Flavour of New Zealand.
  18. ^ "SA Charts 1969 - 1989 - Acts B". Springbok Radio. June 5, 1970. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  19. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–2006. Record Research. p. 56. ISBN 9780898201727.
  20. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending May 16, 1970".
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