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Sometimes it's all in the translation. Sometimes it's all in the pronunciation. Sometimes it's both.
In 1970, The George Baker Selection, a Dutch group looking to gain an audience in English speaking countries, especially the US, released their debut song: "Little Greenback."
The song was supposed to be about The almighty dollar, but there was a problem: with George's Dutch accent, it sounded like he was singing "Little Green Bag."
Unfortunately, many people thought that was a drug reference--slang for bag of marijuana.
On the other hand, it made people sit up and take notice of the song, helping to make it a worldwide hit.
But not before The George Baker selection played into the mispronunciation, and actually changed the name of the song and their debut album--to "Little Green Bag."
Chartwise, it did pretty well--Even in the US, where some radio stations wouldn't play it because of the alleged drug reference.
Of course, the fact that Quentin Tarantino used it in his film "Reservoir Dogs" certainly didn't hurt!!)
It reached number 16 in both the US and Canada. It was also a hit in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, and, of course, their home country of The Netherlands.
"Little Green Bag" by the George Baker Selection: mistranslated, mispronounced, and misunderstood...but a "Great song of 1970!"
Tomorrow: Music for carrying paint cans. Coming June 1: Great Songs of the 80s!
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