George Baker Selection Little Green Bag (1969)
At first listen, today’s track oozes Americana. That groovy bassline, twangy guitar and swaggering rhythm sound like they came straight out of a dusty diner jukebox on Route 66. No wonder Quentin Tarantino picked it to open his cult-classic Reservoir Dogs (1992)—it does just feel like the ultimate American cool.
But here’s the twist: “Little Green Bag” isn’t American at all.
This iconic tune was written and performed by Dutch artist Hans Bouwens, aka George Baker, and his band, the George Baker Selection. Released in 1969 in the Netherlands, the song had some early international buzz but really only took off decades later, thanks to Tarantino’s spotlight.
And here’s a fun side note: The song title was a typo. Originally meant to be “Little Greenback” (slang for U.S. dollar bills), the accidental renaming added a layer of mystery. The mistake stuck and even took on a life of its own: Most listeners assumed it was a nod to a bag of marijuana—though the original meaning was all about chasing money, not weed.
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