George Kooijmans, guitarist and founder of the Dutch band Golden Earring, author of the legendary hard rock composition Radar Love, as well as vocalist and author of the top 10 hit Twilight Zone, has died at the age of 78.
Kooymans' family and the remaining members of the band said he passed away on Wednesday due to complications from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which he was diagnosed with in 2020. The musician left the band shortly after.
A native of Gaga, Coeymans was a teenager in the early 1960s when he helped found the band that would later become Golden Earring. The name was inspired by the instrumental composition Golden Earrings, which was popular at the time.
He became a key figure in the band's most famous lineup, which also included drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk, vocalist and guitarist Barry Hay, and bassist and keyboardist Rinus Gerritsen, and which remained together from 1970 until Kooijmans' departure.
“George faced this devastating illness with incredible fortitude and dignity,” Golden Earring said in a statement.
“We say goodbye to an extraordinary writer and musician whose legacy goes beyond the band. To us, he was a loving husband, father, grandfather, but most of all, a close friend.”
With more than 20 singles reaching the national top 10, Golden Earring enjoyed greater recognition at home than abroad.
However, in the late 60s in the US they began to win an audience in underground circles, and in 1973 they achieved world fame with the track Radar Love. Cover versions of this song were performed by U2, REM and other artists, and the composition itself was featured on the soundtracks to the films Baby Driver and Wayne's World 2.
The song “Radar Love” with its powerful opening riff and the iconic line “I was driving through the night, my hands were sliding on the steering wheel” was included in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the greatest road hits.
Golden Earring have shared the stage with Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, and have toured with bands such as Aerosmith, Rush and the Doobie Brothers.
In 1982, the single Twilight Zone became their most successful release in the US, thanks to a video released on the new MTV channel. Other popular works by the band include When The Lady Smiles and Going To The Run.
The band continued to actively perform and record albums in the 1990s and beyond. In 2011, for the band's 50th anniversary, the Dutch post office issued a commemorative stamp related to Radar Love via a mobile app.
A farewell concert without Koeymans was planned for early next year.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
