Formed in 1961, the band was active for 60 years, almost non-stop. They had 56 years of studio output, starting in 1965, which made them the world's longest surviving rock band, formed a year before The Rolling Stones, until their tragic end on 5 February 2021, when guitarist founding member George Kooymans revealed that he had been diagnosed with the neuro-muscular disease, ALS.
The band's core line-up of four was unchanged from 1970 to 2021, although extra musicians had short stints in the band in the 1970s. Golden Earring was always touring, except in 2000 (their only sabbatical year) and the final year of their existence, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 1961 George Kooymans (age 13) and his neighbour Rinus Gerritsen (age 15) formed The Tornado's in the Zuiderpark district of their home town of The Hague, The Netherlands. The band's first line-up mainly played The Shadows and The Ventures covers, as well as other instrumental tunes, and played its first gigs at school parties.
In 1963, as the band found out that there already was a British band called The Tornados, they decided to change their name into The Golden Ear-rings (after a Peggy Lee song). The band now performed around The Hague, soon had a devoted local following and landed a record deal with Polydor. Their début single, 1965's Please Go, immediately landed in the Dutch Top 10.
Under the Golden Earrings moniker the band eventually recorded four albums and had twelve hit singles in the Netherlands between 1965 and 1969, ten of which reached the Dutch Top 10. Several of their records were released internationally in Europe and even North America, although they failed to make an impact there.
One of the band's sixties singles became their first Dutch #1 hit: 1968's somewhat carnavalesque Dong-Dong-Diki-Digi-Dong, although that tune is now frowned upon by the band and generally regarded as inferior to other sixties Earrings gems, such as That Day (1966, the first Dutch pop single to have been recorded in the U.K., at London's Pye Studios), Sound Of The Screaming Day (1966) and the epic Just A Little Bit Of Peace In My Heart (1969).
The band's lead singer during the early Golden Earrings years was Frans Krassenburg. He was replaced by Barry Hay (ex-The Haigs) in 1967. The band's drummer for much of the 1960s was Jaap Eggermont. His successors were Sieb Warner (1969) and, in 1970, Cesar Zuiderwijk (ex-Livin' Blues), Golden Earring's definitive drummer.
The band's international career modestly started to take off in 1969, the year of their psychedelic Eight Miles High album, their first haphazard tour of the United States and also the year in which the band name was slightly changed into The Golden Earring and finally (dropping the article within a year), Golden Earring. On their early U.S. tours, their long, wild cover version of The Byrds' classic Eight Miles High impressed audiences and press alike. Golden Earring's 19-minute album version, as well as the stand-alone 1969 single, Another 45 Miles, were the first Golden Earring recordings to get some North American airplay.
The arrival of drummer, Cesar Zuiderwijk, in 1970, completed what would turn out to be the group's definitive line-up: Barry Hay (lead vocals/guitar/flute), George Kooymans (guitar/vocals), Cesar Zuiderwijk (drums) and Rinus Gerritsen (bass/harmonica/keyboards).
1970 saw a dramatic shift in Golden Earring's musical style. After the melodic, often Beatle-esque sixties beat of The Golden Earrings and a brief phase of psychedelia and hippie rock in 1968 and 1969, the single Back Home marked the birth of Golden Earring's trademark heavy, riff-based brand of hard rock with catchy hooks. Back Home hit #1 in the Dutch charts and 'broke' Golden Earring in most of Europe, notably countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France.
This marked the start of a decade of domestic and international glory. Between 1966 and 1976 seventeen consecutive Earring singles rocketed into the Dutch Top 10, while their international popularity increased, especially after their lengthy 1972 tour of Europe, supporting The Who. Buddy Joe (1972) achieved considerable chart success in the German-speaking countries of Europe, but 1973's Radar Love was their breakthrough smash hit worldwide: #13 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #1 in the U.S. Cashbox chart, #5 in Britain, #8 in Australia, #10 in Canada, #5 in Germany, #6 in Belgium, #1 in Spain and also #1 in (last but not least) Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), to name but a few.
Radar Love remains an enduring 'car classic' and radio anthem of global fame to this day. Between 1969 and 1985 Golden Earring completed ten major tours of North America, building a considerable North American fanbase, as well as five headlining tours of Great Britain in 1973 and 1974 alone. Golden Earring toured as 'special guests' of The Who, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, .38 Special, Rush and many more, whereas bands like Aerosmith, KISS, ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd opened for Golden Earring. The album that spawned Radar Love, 1973's Moontan, was certified 'Gold' by North America's RIAA in 1974 and sold millions of copies worldwide.
The band failed to achieve similar chart success in the years after Radar Love: the progressive Switch (1975) and To The Hilt (1976) charted in Billboard's album charts, but yielded no major U.S. hits. The singles were clearly not what North American audiences wanted from the 'Radar Love guys'.
Golden Earring was forgotten by many outside of The Netherland and by 1980 even Dutch audiences started to lose interest: albums such as No Promises, No Debts (1979) and Prisoner Of The Night (1980) were commercial flops, leading to the band's decision (in 1981) to record a 'final LP and then call it quits.
The lead single from 1982's 'farewell album', Cut, a Kooymans-penned tune called Twilight Zone, surprisingly became an even bigger hit in the U.S. than Radar Love: #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, thanks to heavy MTV rotation of the Dick Maas-directed video. The song (#1 in The Netherlands) revived Golden Earring's stateside career overnight. The Cut LP was certified 'gold' in Canada, with Twilight Zone hitting #3 in the Canadian charts.
In their native Netherlands the band did manage to extend their creative and commercial peak this time: the single When The Lady Smiles and the album N.E.W.S. ('NorthEastWestSouth'), both released in 1984, repeated the success of Twilight Zone and Cut. 'Lady' peaked at #3 in Canada, but fared disappointingly in the U.S. as MTV and even radio stations banned the track because of its controversial video, once again directed by Dick Maas, in which the rape of a nun was suggested.
After 1985 things rapidly went downhill for Golden Earring internationally (they would not tour the U.S. again), but - after a creative and financial crisis that lasted throughout the second half of the 1980s - the band wrote one of their most enduring Dutch hits in 1991 (the power-ballad, Going To The Run, which fared partially well in Russia) and discovered a new gold mine in their home country a year later: acoustic concerts in theatres, the concept of MTV Unplugged.
To everybody's surprise, the band's acoustic live album, The Naked Truth, slowly became their all-time biggest selling album in The Netherlands. Its sequels, Naked II (1997) and Naked III (2005) also went platinum at least once in The Netherlands.
Golden Earring's by far most succesful album internationally remains 1973's Moontan, which sold well over 3.5 million copies outside of The Netherlands and was certified 'gold' in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom (and platinum in the U.S. in later years).
Golden Earring released 25 studio albums, 9 live albums and countless succesful compilations. Almost all of these records were certified gold, often platinum, in The Netherlands. More than anything else, though, the band remained a live force of legendary status in their home country and beyond. They toured throughout each year until the very end, almost exclusively in the Netherlands, although there are still occasional live appearances in Belgium and Germany. 2009 saw Golden Earring's long overdue return to the United Kingdom: their sold out shows in Ipswich and London's Shepherd's Bush Empire were their first live appearances in England since 1978.
In 2011 the band recorded their first album of new material since 2003's Millbrook U.S.A.: Tits 'n Ass - studio album #25 for the Dutch legends - was released on 11 May 2012 on Universal Music and hit #1 in the Dutch album charts one week after its release to become Golden Earring's 8th #1 album in their home country. Certified 'gold' in The Netherlands, the album was generally believed to be Golden Earring's final studio outing, but December 2015 saw the release of a five-track mini album entitled The Hague, released more than fifty years after their début single and just before the band's sold out 'Five Zero' anniversary concert at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome in front of a 17,000-strong crowd. 2019 saw the release of a stand-alone single, Say When: Golden Earring's final studio recording.
Nobody was aware of it at the time, but the band's 16 November 2019 performance at the Rotterdam Ahoy would turn out to be their final concert. After a year of Covid-19 lockdowns, guitarist George Kooymans announced his ALS diagnosis on 5 February 2021, the disease rendering him unfit to perform. Within hours, the band admitted that carrying on without Kooymans was unthinkable. In the words of lead singer, Barry Hay: "This is the end of the line for the band. It's a death blow. We always said: we'll keep going until the first one of us goes down. I never expected it to be George."
The band's final performance was released as a live CD and DVD in April 2022, named after Barry Hay's final words at the end of countless Golden Earring shows: You Know We Love You!.
Studio albums (released as Golden Earring, unless noted otherwise)
Just Ear-rings (1965, as The Golden Earrings or The Golden Ear-rings)
Winter-Harvest (1967, as Golden Earrings, sometimes spelled as Winter Harvest)
Miracle Mirror (1968, as Golden Earrings)
On The Double (1969, as Golden Earrings)
Eight Miles High (1969, as The Golden Earring)
Golden Earring (1970, colloquially known as 'Wall Of Dolls')
Seven Tears (1971)
Together (1972)
Moontan (1973)
Switch (1975)
To The Hilt (1976)
Contraband (1976, U.S. title: Mad Love)
Grab It For A Second (1978)
No Promises... No Debts (1979, spelled as No Promises, No Debts on most online platforms)
Prisoner Of The Night (1980)
Cut (1982)
N.E.W.S. (1984)
The Hole (1986)
Keeper Of The Flame (1989)
Bloody Buccaneers (1991)
Face It (1994)
Love Sweat (1995, covers album)
Paradise In Distress (1999)
Millbrook U.S.A. (2003)
Tits 'n Ass (2012)
The Hague (EP, 2015)
Live albums
Live (1977)
2nd Live (1981)
Something Heavy Going Down (1984, includes one new studio track)
The Naked Truth (1992, acoustic)
Naked II (1997, acoustic)
Last Blast Of The Century (2000)
Naked III (2005, acoustic, incorrectly listed as Naked Truth III on some streaming platforms)
Live In Ahoy 2006 (2006, live DVD + CD set)
You Know We Love You! (2022, live DVD + CD set)
Additional information:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Earring
Official website: https://www.golden-earring.nl
Sail On Sailor
Golden Earring Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through restful waters and deep commotion
Often frightened, unenlightened
Sail on, sail on sailor
I wrest the waters, fight Neptune's waters
Sail through the sorrow of life's marauders
Unrepenting, often empty
Sail on, sail on sailor
Alone but I sail
Bought like a crust of bread
Oh, did I wail
Seldom stumble, never crumble
Try to tumble, life's a tumble
Feel the stinging, I've been giving
Never ending, unrelenting
Heartbreak searing, always fearing
Never clearing, persevering
Sail on, sail on sailor
I work the seaways
The gale swept seaways
Past shipwrecked daughters
Of wicked waters
Uninspired, drenched and tired
Sail on, sail on sailor
Always needing, even bleeding
Never feeding, all my feelings
Damn the thunder, must I blunder
There's no wonder, all I'm under
Stop the crying and the lying
And the sighing and my dying
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
Sail on, sail on sailor
The lyrics of Golden Earring's "Sail On Sailor" offer a powerful metaphor for the tumultuous journey of life. The singer describes sailing an ocean that is both "unsettled" and "restful," suggesting the tempestuous nature of existence. They battle against the forces of nature, fighting "Neptune's waters" and navigating the "sorrow of life's marauders." Through it all, the singer acknowledges their own fears and shortcomings but continues to sail, persevering through heartbreak and adversity.
The repeated refrain of "sail on, sail on sailor" reinforces the message of determination in the face of hardship. The line "Caught like a sewer rat, alone but I sail" is particularly powerful, evoking a sense of isolation and desperation but also the resiliency to keep moving forward. The final stanza offers a plea to "stop the crying and the lying," potentially suggesting a desire to break through the pain and find a sense of peace or clarity.
Overall, the lyrics of "Sail On Sailor" offer a poignant meditation on the human experience, celebrating the resilience and courage it takes to navigate the storms of life.
Line by Line Meaning
I sailed an ocean, unsettled ocean
I embarked on a journey through uncharted and unpredictable waters
Through restful waters and deep commotion
Encountering both peaceful and turbulent waters as I travelled
Often frightened, unenlightened
I was frequently afraid and lacked knowledge and understanding of what lay ahead
Sail on, sail on sailor
Despite the difficulties, I must continue my journey and not give up
I wrest the waters, fight Neptune's waters
I had to struggle against the strong and uncontrollable forces of nature
Sail through the sorrow of life's marauders
I had to navigate through the hardships and obstacles created by cruel people
Unrepenting, often empty
I didn't regret my choices but often felt hollow and incomplete
Caught like a sewer rat
I was trapped and helpless like a rodent in the sewage system
Alone but I sail
Despite being alone, I have to continue with my journey
Bought like a crust of bread, oh did I wail
I was sold for a low price like a piece of stale bread and cried out in despair
Seldom stumble, never crumble
I rarely made mistakes and never fell apart under pressure
Try to tumble, life's a tumble
Even though life can be a chaotic and unpredictable mess, I try to stay balanced
Feel the stinging, I've been giving
I experienced pain and hurt from the challenges and struggles I faced
Never ending, unrelenting
The hardships seemed to go on forever and never let up
Heartbreak searing, always fearing
I felt intense emotional pain and persisted despite constant fear and anxiety
Never clearing, persevering
The situation never improved, but I persisted and kept going nonetheless
I work the seaways, the gale swept seaways
I navigated through the rough, stormy waters of the open sea
Past shipwrecked daughters of wicked waters
I encountered and sailed past the remnants of ships destroyed by treacherous waters
Uninspired, drenched and tired
I lacked motivation and became soaked and exhausted from the journey
Always needing, even bleeding
I required and craved assistance and was willing to suffer to continue my journey
Never feeding, all my feelings
I neglected my emotional needs and didn't allow myself to feel or process my emotions
Damn the thunder, must I blunder
Despite the overwhelming noise and chaos, I couldn't afford any mistakes
There's no wonder, all I'm under
It's no surprise that I feel bogged down and overwhelmed by everything
Stop the crying and the lying, and the sighing and my dying
I need to stop the emotional turmoil and deception and move forward instead of giving up
Sail on, sail on sailor
I must keep moving forward and not lose hope, despite the difficulties
Sail on, sail on sailor
I must push through and continue my journey, even when it's hard
Sail on, sail on sailor
No matter what happens, I need to persist and keep moving forward
Sail on, sail on sailor
Even when everything seems against me, I have to continue my journey and not give up
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Brian Douglas Wilson, Jack Rieley, Raymond Louis Kennedy, Tandyn Almer, Van Dyke Parks
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve Sewall
Strong and very good. Adds a whole dimension to the song.
Steven Craig
A great take on a great song!
drohegda
i love golden earring.one of the best assembled rock bands of all time.top notch musicans and singers.i love the accoustic version of twlight zone on youtube.thank you oddvar for the video.this is my favorite beach boy song.
Barbara Webb
This is a cover of a Beach Boys song.
Graham Sharpe
Outstanding!!!!
Linda Allen
Dynamic! Good job!
charles glendenmeyer
Beautiful.
Graham Sharpe
Brilliant!!
Cheez Head
Talk about longevity for a classic rock band there you go folks
Brian Grant
My broher worked for JAM Productions back in the day.... These guys were at Kickapoo Creek Festival circa 1974... He worked security at the show and said these were the coolest band here... And the BEST....