Little Green Bag
Encyclopedia
"Little Green Bag" is a 1969 song written by Dutch
musicians, Jan Visser and George Baker (credited as Hans Bouwens), and recorded by the George Baker Selection at the band's own expense. The 7" single
debut of the George Baker Selection was released by the label
Negram. The B-side was "Pretty Little Dreamer". In 1970, "Little Green Bag" appeared on the album, Little Green Bag, by the George Baker Selection.
The song reached the number 9 position in the Dutch Top 40
, and the number 3 position in Belgium
. In the summer of 1970, it reached the number 16 position on the Cash Box magazine
chart and 21 in the Billboard Top 100 in the U.S.
. In 1992, when the song was used in the film
Reservoir Dogs
, it became an international cult classic
. Also in 1992, the song reached the number 1 position in Japan
, after it was used in a Japanese whiskey
commercial.
In 1999, Tom Jones
released a cover of the song recorded with the Canadian band Barenaked Ladies
on the collaborations album Reload.
intro, with a tambourine
played on the off beats. The bass line is played twice followed by a drum groove with a bounce feel. The vocals start and are sung in a mellow, cool way, then they build. By the chorus
the song starts to resemble romantic Spanish
music.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
musicians, Jan Visser and George Baker (credited as Hans Bouwens), and recorded by the George Baker Selection at the band's own expense. The 7" single
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
debut of the George Baker Selection was released by the label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Negram. The B-side was "Pretty Little Dreamer". In 1970, "Little Green Bag" appeared on the album, Little Green Bag, by the George Baker Selection.
The song reached the number 9 position in the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
, and the number 3 position in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. In the summer of 1970, it reached the number 16 position on the Cash Box magazine
Cash Box magazine
Cashbox magazine was a weekly publication devoted to the music and coin-operated machine industries in the USA which was published from July 1942 to November 16, 1996...
chart and 21 in the Billboard Top 100 in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1992, when the song was used in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs
Reservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
, it became an international cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
. Also in 1992, the song reached the number 1 position in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, after it was used in a Japanese whiskey
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
commercial.
In 1999, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
released a cover of the song recorded with the Canadian band Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
on the collaborations album Reload.
Musical analysis
The song features a jazzy bassBassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
intro, with a tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
played on the off beats. The bass line is played twice followed by a drum groove with a bounce feel. The vocals start and are sung in a mellow, cool way, then they build. By the chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
the song starts to resemble romantic Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
music.
Cover
- In the 1970s Luigi Albertelli translated the song into Italian, with the title Un passatempo; this version was recorded by Nada (Italian singer)Nada (Italian singer)Nada is an Italian singer. She was nicknamed Il pulcino di Gabbro ....
. Titled La borsetta verde it was recorded by the group i Punti Cardinali.
In popular culture
- The song is included on the soundtrack of the Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
film Reservoir DogsReservoir DogsReservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
and appears in the famous intro scene that leads into the opening credits. - It is featured in The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Jazzy and the PussycatsJazzy and the Pussycats"Jazzy and the Pussycats" is the second episode of The Simpsons eighteenth season and first aired on September 17, 2006. When Bart turns a quiet funeral into a chaotic mess, Homer and Marge are faced with angry Springfielders who've had enough of Bart's mischievousness...
". - It is featured in the Red DwarfRed DwarfRed Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
episode "Back in the Red Part 2Back in the Red"Back in the Red" is a three-part episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series VIII. Part I was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 18 February 1999 while Parts II and III were broadcast on 25 February and 4 March respectively....
". - It is featured in the Freaks and GeeksFreaks and GeeksFreaks and Geeks is an American teen comedy-drama television series, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow, that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season...
episode "Chokin' and Tokin'". - It is featured in the PsychPsychPsych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
episode "Last Night Gus'". - It is featured on the soundtrackSoundtrackA soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the Belgian arthouse short film Snorstok. - It is featured on the RTÉ TwoRTÉ TwoRTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
TV show Monday Night SoccerMonday Night SoccerMonday Night Soccer is the RTÉ's main football television programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two on Monday evenings during the Irish football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in Irish football's top division, the League of Ireland Premier Division...
before the introduction of that week's show's analysts. - It is featured in the international teaser trailer for the film Despicable MeDespicable MeDespicable Me is a 2010 American computer-animated 3D comedy film from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment that was released on July 9, 2010 in the United States. The film features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett, Kristen Wiig, and...
. - It is featured in the CouplingCoupling (UK TV series)Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC2 from May 2000 to June 2004. Produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, the show centres on the dating and sexual adventures and mishaps of six friends in their thirties, often depicting the three women and the three...
episode "Sex, Death and Nudity" which parodies the Reservoir Dogs scene where the men in the main cast are wearing similar black suits on the way to a funeral. - It is featured in a television commercial for HeinekenHeinekenHeineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
beer. - It was used to promote a ChileanChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
called Machos by Canal 13Canal 13Canal 13 is the name of six Central and South American television stations:* Canal 13 , television network from Buenos Aires, Argentina* Canal 13 , television network from Santiago, Chile...
in 2003. - It was used in an Australian television commercial for Toyota motor vehicles in 2005.
- It was used in an episode of BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Top Gear (2002 TV series) when James MayJames MayJames Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
exhibits the Maserati BoraMaserati BoraThe Maserati Bora is a Maserati two-seater coupe powered by a V8 engine mounted amidships. Produced from 1971 to 1978, it had a top speed of .-History:...
during Episode 3 of Series 6 which originally aired on 12/6/2005. - An audio clip of "Little Green Bag" accompanied a SNL Weekend Update sketch May 7, 2011. It was played with White House footage of President Obama walking toward the podium May 1 to announce the death of Osama bin LadenDeath of Osama bin LadenOsama bin Laden, then head of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was killed in Pakistan on May 2, 2011, shortly after 1 a.m. local time by a United States special forces military unit....
.