George Kooymans, guitarist and co-founder of Dutch rockers Golden Earring, has died. He was 77.
Kooymans’ family confirmed his death to the Dutch outlet AD, explaining that the musician died from complications of ALS, an illness he had been battling since 2020.
“We have said goodbye to a great musician and songwriter whose work reached far beyond Golden Earring. George was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and above all a friend,” the family said.
Golden Earring drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk added: “We’d like quiet as we remember everything he created. I played with him for 50 years, and it was the best time of my life.”
Golden Earring spent more than five decades together, racking up huge success in their homeland. Songs like Radar Love from 1973, Twilight Zone from 1982, and When The Lady Smiles from 1984 earned them an international reputation. While Twilight Zone was the band’s highest-charting track in the US, hitting number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, their epic Radar Love (the single peaked at number 13) is still the band’s best-known hit and a staple of radio stations spinning classic-era rock’n’roll!
