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A Tribute to George Kooymans of Golden Earring (1948-2025)

Sea of Tranquility | January 12, 2026



Join Pete Pardo for a tribute to the late George Kooymans, guitarist/vocalist of Golden Earring, who passed away on July 22, 2025 at the age of 77. #georgekooymans #goldenearring
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Written by Sea of Tranquility

Comments

This post currently has 46 comments.

  2. @mitchmover3284

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Thank you very much for the tribute Pete! George Kooymans was not only a great guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer, but a truly great man as well. He and Golden Earring forever changed my life, literally! It was through their music that I met and retained many Dutch friends. He was so gracious to me, even on the very first encounter with him, he instantly offered me a beer. Our relationship grew to the point where he invited me to his home and home studio. Meeting my musical hero was already a dream come true, but then to be actually standing and sitting in his home studio is really beyond words. My memories of him and the band will live with me forever…truly some of the best moments of my life! RIP George!

  4. @GachaMetal

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Finally got around to this video. JUST AWESOME! I grew up on GE albums like Switch, To the Hilt, Wall of Dolls, Seven Tears, the list goes on and on and on. Irony is-if I hadn’t seen Twilight Zone on MTV back in 1985, I would’ve never bought the 2x Live album and wouldn’t have discovered the greatness.

  6. @andreverhagemusic

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    thanks mate from the Netherlands.
    The where original from The Hague founded in 1961 George was married with the sister of bass player Rinus Gerritsen. I saw them playing live many times and had the pleasure to meet all band members!
    Down to Earth Dutch guys no star shit! Ps there’s a video tribute on my YT channel.

  7. @kurtpiepenburg6843

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Look for the boxed set of CDs. It has everything. There's good stuff on every one of them. Check out Prisoner of the Night on Long Blond Animal (US title LP). Fantastic guitar on that great song.

  9. @guessundheit6494

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    And we may lose another great. Dave Edmunds (Rockpile, solo artist) had a massive heart attack and brain damage. He may not be with us much longer. He was also a producer (Foghat's debut album, Stray Cats's debut, many other bands), almost as prolific as his Rockpile bandmate and friend Nick Lowe.

  10. @Loopsinasquare

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    My favorite band, which wasnt easy living in the US, I had to hunt, and I mean hunt, to find thier albums before there was the internet. He was such a good guitarist, song writer, and a great singer. Many of my favorite Golden Earrings songs feature him on lead vocals. My father also passed from ALS in 2018.

  11. @jettechdon28

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Golden Earring would have been more popular in the US if they would have toured more here.I did see them in St. Louis in 1975,they opened for Robin Trower.I think Golden Earring was much better live than their studio albums.George was a great one for sure.George,Rinus,Barry and Cesar together will be remembered for a long time.

  13. @Crestliner1972

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Moontan is one of my favorite albums of all time. EVERY song is GREAT. I remember I bought it on 8 track when I first got my license in 1974 – use to blast it in my car. Actually – absolutely true – after my buddy texted my that George had died when I got in my car the next day Moontan was actually in my CD player – I was listening to it the day before.

  14. @Zarthaz1

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    What a band they were. I remember owning a very early single from them somewhere in the 60's. I think it was actually a promo song for Coca Cola or something and iirc they were the Golden Earrings then before dropping the s. Go easy George

  15. @davel.9467

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    I grew up with a best friend who was a massive Golden Earring fan. I had great fun attending a Golden Earring/Rush gig on the Hemispheres tour. While I was never quite as gung ho on GE as him, I thought they were great. He swears to this day that their drummer Cesar was every bit as good as Peart. I have to admit, that night, Cesar was great (but no Peart). After all that, I’m still take some, leave some when it comes to GE. Your recommendations are excellent choices.

  16. @zenncatt

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    RIP George. 🙏 What a loss. First saw Golden Earing on TV – PBS if I remember correctly. Here was this guy with a black Les Paul Custom (my future dream guitar) playing some amazing fluid leads. Went with my brother to the record store the next day and walked out with "The Switch" album tucked underneath my arm – to borrow a phrase from Ian Anderson. Got home, dropped the needle on the first track, Plus Minus Absurdio, and was in for a sonic experience.

  17. @Peatman

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Thank you so much for highlighting this amazing talemt who indeed does not get the recognition he deserves, as widely respected as he is.

    An excellent representation of George's tasteful guitar skills and empassioned voice is "You're Better Off Free" from 1971's Seven Tears. The main feature is a phenomenal four minute guitar solo thay builds and swirls as the band lays into the 10/8 beat more and more. Incrediible!

    The period 8 Miles High (1969) to To The Hilt (1976) is nothing but fantastic music and a rich transition from heavy rock to expansive prog to reggae and boogie. "Lonesome DJ", another killer with George on lead vox, could even be described as the best song Meat Loaf never recorded. I put on Switch yesterday and it's probably the most versatile and engaging album they've recorded. Iron Maiden even covered Kill Me Ce Soir.

    Be sure to check out the Live at Winterland 1975 full concert video. It's nothing short of spectacular.

  20. @sunrise1932-ah

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    R.I.P. George Kooymanns
    Golden Earring are one of my favorite Bands of all time. Here in Germany and particulary in the Netherlands Golden Earring are high rated. Thanks for the wonderful songs Radar Love, Back Home, Buddy Joe, She Flies On Strange Wings, Vanilla Queen, Kill Me (Ce Soir), Why Me?, Sleepwalkin', Twilight Zone, Going To The Run, Johnny Make Believe and many many more.

  21. @petertaylorson5783

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    RIP George. Great band. was lucky enough to see Earring at The Rainbow in '73. Great live band. Although not mentioned (difficult to cover all i know) i highly recommend 91's Bloody Buccaneers album. So many great songs on that one and up there with their early 70's best. What about to tribute to Dave Cousins of The Strawbs Pete? Surprised there has been no mention of this on your channel.

  24. @ericfried6229

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Sad to hear George passed. I’ve been a fan of GE for a long time. Most people only know them by Radar Love but they have so many great albums and songs, like When the Lady Smiles, Quiet Eyes, Something Heavy Going Down and Long Blonde Animal. I could go on 😊. RIP George

  28. @dandypoe

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    I grew up with Golden Earring and I Love them! Specially the Early Works like: Buddy Joe, A little bit of Peace in my Heart, Radar Love, Ce Soir and so on. My favourite Albums are: Together, 8 Miles High, Moontan and 7 Tears. Rest in Peace George Kooymans! Miss You!

  33. @oksteve6368

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Extremely underrated band and as individuals,underrated for their musicianship.I did a deep dive into their music by way of YouTube several years ago and fell in love with their music.So much more to them than just the hits.R.I.P. George.

  34. @jayspeijer614

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Before hearing of George’s passing, I was playing that first live album earlier today; it is so good!

    A few years back, owning just Moontan and a ‘Best of’ album, I took the plunge and bought GE’s big 29-disc box set of studio albums, then their box set of about 10 live albums and finally their recent live CD-DVD final show. I absolutely treasure their entire catalogue!

    In addition to being a complete beast on the guitar, George was a fantastic singer, whose range and style complemented Barry Hay’s (lead singer) beautifully. George did sing lead on a number of songs, but I really dug when the two of them duetted, trading lead lines and harmonizing on powerful numbers such as Going to the Run and Twilight Zone!

    RIP George and long live the music of Netherlands’ best all-time band, Golden Earring ❤️🖤❤️🖤

  36. @vicprovost2561

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Moontan was an amazing album, he laid down some great licks on some amazing prog-rock like jams that were musical genius. Hey were a real underrated band here in the states but huge in Europe. I suggest their live sets at RockPalast 1982 and at Ahoy 2006. He was one on my favorites and still listen to them to this day. Enjoy! 🔥🎵🎸🎤🎸🎹🎶🔥

  38. @supermineday

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Thanks a lot pete for doing our dutch guit ar legend george, i am a big golden earring fan and it was so tragic to hear about the news right after ozzy.
    Rip george

  44. @justamops

    January 12, 2026 at 1:57 pm

    Last night here on YouTube I rewatched the best showcase for George’s guitar prowess that I’ve ever seen: a full black and white concert of Golden Earring live at Winterland in 1975. George absolutely SHREDS throughout. I have all of Golden Earring’s albums, and it’s a sad time for me. The deluxe editions that Wouter Bessels has been producing of GE’s albums are top-notch: Moontan, Live, Cut and others, with b-sides, session recordings, and sometimes video, plus great liner notes, and the best sound I’ve ever heard for this music on CD. Check them out!

Comments are closed.

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