#182: Paloma Blanca by the George Baker Selection
Peak Month: March 1976
14 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
Peak Position #1
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #26
YouTube: “Paloma Blanca”
Lyrics: “Paloma Blanca”
Hans Bouwens was born in December 1944 in Hoorn, North Holland, the Netherlands. He was born to a single mother. Months before Bouwens was born, his father, Peppino Caruso, a former Italian soldier from Calabria put to labor by the Germans in nearby Grosthuizen, had been killed while attempting to escape when he was to be transferred to Germany. Bouwens was raised by his mother and his grandparents. He sang and played guitar in a schoolband (The Jokers) with Bob Ketzers, but at the age of 14 he left school and took jobs unloading ships on the Zaan and eventually as a factory worker at a lemonade factory. In 1961, he took the stage name “Body” and formed the band Body and the Wild Cats, with Bob Ketzers and his brother Ruud as well as Gerrit Bruyn on bass, all from Wormerveer.
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#208: Little Green Bag by George Baker Selection
Peak Month: May 1970
10 weeks on Vancouver’s CKLG chart
1 week Hit Bound
Peak Position #1 ~ CKVN
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #21
YouTube: “Little Green Bag”
Lyrics: “Little Green Bag”
Hans Bouwens was born in December 1944 in Hoorn, North Holland, the Netherlands. He was born to a single mother. Months before Bouwens was born, his father, Peppino Caruso, a former Italian soldier from Calabria put to labor by the Germans in nearby Grosthuizen, had been killed while attempting to escape when he was to be transferred to Germany. Bouwens was raised by his mother and his grandparents. He sang and played guitar in a schoolband (The Jokers) with Bob Ketzers, but at the age of 14 he left school and took jobs unloading ships on the Zaan and eventually as a factory worker at a lemonade factory. In 1961, he took the stage name “Body” and formed the band Body and the Wild Cats, with Bob Ketzers and his brother Ruud as well as Gerrit Bruyn on bass, all from Wormerveer.
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#411: Sausalito Summernight by Diesel
Peak Month: October 1981
11 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #25
YouTube: “Sausalito Summernight”
Lyrics: “Sausalito Summernight”
Wilhelmus Frederikus “Pim” Koopman was born in the North Holland town of Hilversum in 1953. In 1972 he co-founded a progressive rock band called Kayak. They had a number of Top 30 hits in the Netherlands, with “Ruthless Queen” peaking in the nation at #6 in 1979. Koopman left Kayak in 1976 due to health problems and interpersonal conflicts with the band’s manager. Next, Koopman began to focus on being a producer of other recording acts records. These included the Dutch singing duo Maywood (comprised of sisters Aaltje (“Alie”) and Doetje (“Edith”) de Vries; pop singer José Hoebee; multi-instrumentalist Valensia; and Dutch classical-pop crossover singer Petra Berger. In 1978 Pim Koopman founded Nederpop band Diesel.
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#585: Holiday Rap by MC Miker G & Deejay Sven
Peak Month: May 1987
9 weeks on CKLG’s Vancouver Charts
Peak Position ~ #5
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube.com: “Holiday Rap”
Lyrics: “Holiday Rap”
Lucien Witteveen was a breakdancer and rapper, and Sven van Veen was a DJ. They both lived in the Netherlands. In 1986 they met at a disco in Hilversum. They knew the 1983 song by Madonna titled “Holiday”. They pair decided to cut a demo rap version of the song they titled “Holiday Rap”. They also used portions of the melody from Cliff Richard’s 1963 hit “Summer Holiday“. “Holiday Rap” was credited to MC Miker “G” & Deejay Sven. The first demo was not of suitable quality. So they got Dutch music DJ Ben Liebrand to produce the record. Continue reading →
