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
The Lonesome D.J
Golden Earring Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To a friend out there, somewhere on a big highway
That's quite a note you wrote
Before you sneaked out with that, what's his name?
Here's our song, yes the one
I used to play for you all day
You've gotta call and explain
I don't care who's listenin' in
Honey I'm against the wall
I'll adjust my program
To the kind of fool I am
I can only hope that you're tuned in
I have no choice, baby
I sell my voice, maybe
I'm just another lonesome D.J.
Alone, with a phone and a stack of black vinyl
And I know, that home could be just as futile
Without your presence
It wouldn't make any sense
So I beg, I never did
Never realized my love for you was that immense
Call and explain
Before you leave the station's range
I don't care who's listenin' in
Honey I'm against the wall
I'll adjust my program
To the kind of fool I am
I hope you're still tuned in
I have no choice, baby
I sell my voice, maybe
I'm just another lonesome D.J.
Well, let me tell you, she didn't call
A finger to you all
I might as well have a ball
And play some rock and roll
In "The Lonesome D.J." by Golden Earring, the lyrics are a dedication to a friend, a trucker out on the road, who wrote a note before sneaking out with someone new. The song is being played by a radio DJ who is speaking to this friend, begging him or her to call in and explain what has happened before leaving the range of the station's signal. Despite the potential audience listening in, the DJ doesn't care who is hearing him and admits that he is "against the wall." He promises to adjust his program to reflect the kind of fool he is, meaning that he will play songs that reflect his current emotional state of heartbreak while hoping that the friend is still listening. Throughout the song, the DJ speaks between verses, his voice echoing the poignancy of the lyrics, and the sense of loneliness, and the depth of the pain he feels, as he stands alone in the darkened radio studio with a stack of black vinyl records.
The song is introspective and reflective, as the DJ realizes how much he loved the friend and that he longs for his presence. The song's structure is simple and repetitive, with the same verse and chorus repeated three times, with slight variations in the lyrics. These variations reflect the singer's changing attitude toward the situation, with him initially pleading with the friend to call in, then expressing his heartfelt emotions, and finally reaching a point where he decides to move on with "playing some rock and roll." The song's central theme is loneliness and how it can affect people, especially those in the entertainment business, who must share their thoughts and personalities with the public while still dealing with their own private emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's a sad, real sad record I've gotta dedicate
The singer needs to play a sad song, in dedication to someone he knows who is traveling on a large highway.
To a friend out there, somewhere on a big highway
The song is dedicated to a friend the singer knows who is currently on a large highway.
That's quite a note you wrote
The singer acknowledges that his friend left a note before leaving and hopes that he will come back and listen to his show again.
Before you sneaked out with that, what's his name?
The artist is wondering who his friend left with and is worried about his safety.
Here's our song, yes the one
The artist used to play a song for his friend all day and dedicates it to him now.
You've gotta call and explain
The singer wants his friend to call and explain why he left.
Before you leave the station's range
The singer wants his friend to call him before he leaves the area where he can tune in to the radio station.
I don't care who's listenin' in
The artist doesn't care if other people hear their conversation; he just wants to talk to his friend.
Honey I'm against the wall
The artist feels trapped or cornered and needs to hear from his friend to feel better.
I'll adjust my program
The artist is willing to change the music he plays on his show to match his current mood.
To the kind of fool I am
The singer admits to being foolish and ruled by his emotions when it comes to his friend.
I can only hope that you're tuned in
The artist hopes that his friend is still listening to his radio show.
I have no choice, baby
The singer has no choice but to continue with his show, even though he is upset and worried.
I sell my voice, maybe
The singer realizes that he is essentially selling his voice on the radio for money.
I'm just another lonesome D.J.
The singer is one of many radio DJs who feel isolated without their listeners and friends.
Alone, with a phone and a stack of black vinyl
The artist is alone in the studio with his equipment and records to play on his show.
And I know, that home could be just as futile
The artist realizes that even if he were at home, it would be just as depressing as being alone at the station without his friend.
Without your presence
The singer needs his friend's presence to feel happy and complete.
It wouldn't make any sense
Without his friend, the singer's show and life lack purpose and meaning.
So I beg, I never did
The artist pleads with his friend, admitting that he never realized how important his friendship was until he left.
Never realized my love for you was that immense
The artist belatedly discovers the depth of his love for his friend and hopes that he will come back to him.
Well, let me tell you, she didn't call
The artist talks to his listeners, telling them that his friend never called him back.
A finger to you all
The singer is angry that his friend never called him back and is taking it out on his listeners.
I might as well have a ball
The artist decides to enjoy himself and play some upbeat rock and roll music for his listeners.
And play some rock and roll
The singer puts on some rock and roll music to lift his own spirits and those of his listeners.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HAY, KOOYMANS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind