George Baker Selection

George Baker (born Hans Bouwens) is the founder of George Baker Selection, a Volendam outfit which, in the 1970s, became one of the very few Dutch groups to became world famous, probably by moving to a more middle-of-the-road Dutch folk-tinged pop repertoire. Their line-up in 1967, then still called Soul Invention, featured: Hans Bouwens, Eric Bardoen, Job Netten (later to Instant People and Lucifer), Henk Kramer, Ton Vredenburg, Jan Visser, Sjaak Greuter.

1969 brought the group's first breakthrough hit, "Little Green Bag", and the story of George Baker Selection really began. In 1970, the line-up featured: Hans, Jan, Sjaak, Jan Hop (ex-Kiss Kiss) George The. A year later, Jan Visser went to Fisher & Friends, and was replaced by Cor Veerman (ex-Left Side).

In the years 1974-1978 (until George decided to go solo), the line-up remained: Hans, Jan Hop, Sjaak, George, Lydia Bont aka Lida Bond (ex-Q-Tips) Martin Schoen (ex-Rob Hoeke).



George Baker is the stage name of Dutch singer, songwriter, musician Hans Bouwens (vocals, guitar, piano, block flute, organ, mandolin). The group began in 1967 under the name Soul Invention, changing in 1969 to The George Baker Selection, at the time featuring a more rock-oriented sound. By 1974, the group switched to a more European middle-of-the-road style and burst onto the international scene with the single, Paloma Blanca. (The first single in 1969, Little Green Bag, a psychedelic rock-style tune, made it into the high teens of the Billboard American Top 100, but the second release, a more countryish tune called Dear Ann, fared less well, staying on the chart a mere two weeks and peaking at #93. The group seemingly disappeared until 1975 when Paloma Blanca hit the top twenty in the US. But the group had been far from idle. In their native Holland they scored successful single after successful single, racking up sales in the millions with numerous gold and platinum albums. George has gone solo twice, recording his last new album, Memories, that way in 1992. At present he is on tour with the Volendam Music Show with Anny Schilder (ex-BZN) and Piet Veerman, and has recently purchased his own studio.

Discography: