Key Takeaways
A recurring song
Every few years, a gentle pop tune from the mid-seventies drifts back into everyday life. A listener hears it on the radio, at a party, or in an online playlist and is carried for a moment into wide open air and easy melody. The song is widely known in English as “White Dove”, written and recorded by a Dutch band led by singer George Baker and released as a single in 1975.
A singer who never quite vanished
When that song comes back, a quiet question often follows: is the singer still alive, and how old is he now? Those are simple questions, yet they say a lot about the bond between popular music and memory. In this case, the answers are clear and grounded in public record: George Baker was born on 8 December 1944 in the Dutch town of Hoorn and is 80 years old in November 2025, approaching his eighty-first birthday.
A career that travelled far beyond the Netherlands
George Baker is the stage name of Johannes “Hans” Bouwens, a Dutch singer and songwriter whose career stretches over five decades. With his group George Baker Selection he scored international hits with songs such as “Little Green Bag”, “White Dove” and “Santa Lucia by Night”, selling millions of records and leaving a lasting imprint on European pop.
A reminder that rumours are not facts
The simple act of wondering whether a familiar voice is “still here” reveals how easily rumours about the deaths of public figures spread in the background noise of the internet. Checked against reliable sources, this particular rumour collapses: as of late 2025 George Baker remains very much alive, still associated with the music that made his name.
Story & Details
A song that keeps returning
Light rhythm, bright melody, and a chorus that feels like a window opening: that is the simple magic of the song many listeners know as “White Dove”. Written by George Baker under his given name, it was recorded with George Baker Selection and released as a single in 1975. At the time, the track served as the title song of the group’s fifth album and quickly crossed borders far beyond the Netherlands.
The tune climbed charts across Europe, reaching the top spot in countries such as Austria, Switzerland and West Germany, and later made its way to New Zealand and South Africa. In the United States, it reached number one on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and broke into both the Hot 100 and the country chart. For a song built on such an easygoing feel, its reach was remarkable.
Part of its appeal lies in its lyrics. They describe the fantasy of stepping out of everyday pressures and floating freely, like a bird that answers to no one. The language is simple and direct, but it taps into a universal wish: the desire to feel unburdened, if only for the length of a pop song.
The man behind the stage name
Behind the smooth production and soft harmonies is a singer with a very specific story. George Baker was born as Johannes Bouwens on 8 December 1944 in Hoorn, a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. His early life was marked by the final months of the Second World War and by modest family circumstances. He grew up with his mother and grandparents and left school early to work in manual jobs, including unloading ships and labouring in a factory.
Music entered his life in bands with friends, first under other names and later in a soul-oriented group that would eventually evolve into George Baker Selection. The stage name “George Baker” was taken from a character in a detective novel, a choice that gave him an international-sounding identity at a time when Dutch pop wanted to travel beyond national borders.
With that name and that band, he found a way out of the dockside and factory floor. His voice and songwriting gave the group a recognisable signature that was both melodic and slightly melancholic, even in upbeat songs.
A band that travelled further than expected
George Baker Selection began as a local act but soon pushed far beyond the Dutch club circuit. The group’s first major breakthrough came with “Little Green Bag” in 1969. The song’s distinctive bassline and slightly mysterious lyrics made it stand out on European radio and later earned it a second life through film soundtracks and advertising.
“White Dove”, released in 1975, confirmed that the success was not a one-off. It became one of the best-selling singles ever to come out of the Netherlands, moving millions of copies. A third major international success followed with “Santa Lucia by Night” in 1985, reinforcing Baker’s reputation as a writer of strong, melodic pop that translated easily across languages and cultures.
Over time, the band’s line-up changed, and there were breaks and reunions, but the combination of Baker’s voice and his songwriting remained the centre of gravity. Even when he performed under his own name, the association with the Selection never fully disappeared.
Checking the facts about age and life
When a singer has been active since the late 1960s, it is natural for people to wonder about his age and whether he is still alive. The facts in this case are straightforward. Public records and reliable biographical sources agree on a date of birth: George Baker was born on 8 December 1944 in Hoorn, in the Netherlands. That single detail allows his age to be fixed with precision at any later time.
In November 2025, that birth date means he is 80 years old. On 8 December 2025 he will turn 81. Recent Dutch media pieces marking his eightieth birthday confirm that he remains active and in good health, still performing and still appearing in interviews. Far from being a figure of the distant past, he continues to be treated as a living part of the country’s pop heritage.
The persistence of occasional rumours to the contrary illustrates a broader pattern: once an artist’s main hits belong to an earlier decade, many people begin to assume, without checking, that the person must have died. In George Baker’s case, those assumptions are simply wrong.
How the music has been preserved
The songs themselves have never really gone away. They circulate on radio, appear on themed compilations, surface in film soundtracks and advertising, and are collected in online playlists. “White Dove” in particular has been covered many times in different languages and styles, from country-tinged versions to more schlager-influenced arrangements, reinforcing the simple core melody that holds them together.
Public broadcasters in the Netherlands have played an important role in preserving the original performances. Archival clips of George Baker Selection on television programmes from the 1970s have been digitised and reissued, providing a vivid sense of how the band looked and sounded at the height of its success. One such performance, now widely accessible online, shows Baker in his thirties, fronting his group with relaxed confidence and a hint of amusement as the crowd sways along.
Together, these traces make it easy to connect the living man in his eighties with the younger singer who once topped charts across Europe. The distance between those two images is measured not just in years but in changes in recording technology, fashion and stage presentation. Yet the essential elements remain recognisable: the voice, the melody, the unhurried optimism.
Conclusions
A living link to a particular era
George Baker stands as a living link between the light-footed European pop of the 1970s and the present day. Born on 8 December 1944 in Hoorn, and eighty years old in November 2025, he carries a catalogue of songs that remain in circulation long after their original release. “White Dove” in particular continues to turn up in places where listeners might not even know his name, only that the tune makes them feel lighter for three minutes.
Why the answer matters
The small, focused question about whether he is still alive opens onto a wider reflection about how audiences relate to ageing artists. To ask about his age and his life is to acknowledge that the music still means something and that the person behind it is not just a voice fixed in time. In an era when misinformation about public figures spreads easily, taking the trouble to check those facts is a quiet form of respect.
The result, in this case, is reassuring. The singer whose work helped define a moment in European pop history remains part of the living cultural landscape, his songs still moving between radio, stage and screen.
Sources
Reliable background on George Baker’s life and career, including his birth date of 8 December 1944 and his role as singer and songwriter for George Baker Selection, can be found in the English-language encyclopedia entry at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Baker_(Dutch_singer)
A concise overview of his early years, his emergence with George Baker Selection and his broader impact on Dutch pop is available through the Dutch public broadcasting biography at
https://www.nporadio5.nl/sterrennl/muziek/artiesten/3d6b3b74-c640-4df2-ae43-c1aea713b93b/george-baker-selection
Detailed information on the single commonly known in English as “White Dove”, including its 1975 release, chart positions in Europe, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States, is presented in the dedicated song entry at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paloma_Blanca
For a structured summary of his age, birth date and association with television programmes that have revisited his work, a fan-curated reference can be consulted at
https://beste-zangers.fandom.com/wiki/George_Baker
An accessible and historically grounded live performance of the song from the mid-seventies, drawn from the archives of Dutch public broadcasting and published on the official TopPop channel, can be viewed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmKam2IUeCI
Appendix
George Baker
George Baker is the stage name of Dutch singer and songwriter Johannes “Hans” Bouwens, born on 8 December 1944 in Hoorn, who became internationally known through melodic pop songs recorded with his group George Baker Selection.
George Baker Selection
George Baker Selection is the Dutch pop group formed in the late 1960s around singer and songwriter George Baker, best known for international hits such as “Little Green Bag”, “White Dove” and “Santa Lucia by Night”.
Hoorn
Hoorn is a historic town in the Dutch province of North Holland, situated on the shore of a former inland sea, and it is the birthplace of Johannes “Hans” Bouwens, later known as George Baker.
Public broadcasting archives
Public broadcasting archives are collections maintained by publicly funded radio and television organisations that preserve recordings of programmes, performances and interviews, including mid-seventies television appearances by George Baker Selection.
White Dove
“White Dove” is the widely used English title for a 1975 pop single written by George Baker and recorded by George Baker Selection, a song built around the image of a bird in free flight and known for its light, hopeful sound and international chart success.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 