George Kooymans, singer and guitarist with Golden Earring, died on July 22 of ALS.
He - they - were probably responsible for more speeding tickets than any other music act, via their biggest single Radar Love. Huge in the Netherlands in particular and Europe in general, they had a few chart singles in the US I believe.
I suppose the next 10-20 years is going to see the demise of all the greats from the golden age of rock - all the remaining original members of Yes, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, the Who, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Blue Oyster Cult, CSNY, Pink Floyd, the Doors, Steely Dan, Genesis, etc etc etc. Such is life.
“Radar Love” was one of only two songs of theirs which broke through in the U.S., the other being “Twilight Zone.” The former made it to #13 on the U.S. Billboard chart, and the latter to #10. Both songs are still a staple on radio stations which play what’s called the “classic rock” format here.
I own a few of their albums, and always enjoyed their music. Sad news, indeed.
What I find interesting is that few legendary 70’s bands still have all their members alive, even when those guys are only pushing 80 (at best) in 2025 (and even if we leave the drug casualties of olden days aside).
Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Eagles, Rush, Yes etc. etc. all have lost key / founding members who were in their 70’s (and could afford the best medical care).
70’s is old, man. Average male lifespan in the US is ~76, which means many make it into their 80’s but more than half do not. Also while wealth may buy some extension, that tends to be somewhat mitigated by the youthful excess quite common in the young, rich and rocking community .
And, thinking about who’s already died from some of those bands, there are a fair number of cases where it (a) probably had nothing to do with youthful excess, and (b) was illness which likely wasn’t going to be curable, even with a lot of money. For example:
Yes: Chris Squire (acute erythrocyte leukemia at age 67)
Eagles: Glenn Frey (rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia at age 67)
Pink Floyd: Syd Barrett (pancreatic cancer at age 60, after a lifetime of mental illness)
I wasn’t really thinking about Barrett, counting him as an 1960’s casualty (but he literally wasn’t). I was thinking of Richard Wright, who died from cancer at 65.
Even looking at European nations, it’s not a whole lot higher for men; for men in most of the EU countries, it’s around 79 or 80; it’s 81 in Kooymans’ Netherlands.
I was looking at Wright when I was writing my earlier post. I don’t know a lot about him, but he died from lung cancer, and I have no idea if he was a smoker (though, given the era when he was a young man, it wouldn’t surprise me), so I didn’t include him. I was mostly looking at examples where there was a relatively early death, and it likely had nothing to do with lifestyle.
It’s not much in raw years, but it is quite much subjectively - for instance: How many years do I have after leaving the work force?, or Do I get to see my grandchildren growing up? etc. Every year means much, kinda like (but not just like) at young age.
Also, people who have millionaire status really do have better health care than average joes, from detection to treatments, so someone in that bracket not reaching actual old age is always surprising, insistent drug users / chain smokers / alcoholics notwithstanding.
Also, for what it’s worth: a lot of older rock musicians – even famous ones – may not be as well off as you might think. Their contracts with their record labels and management teams back in the '60s and '70s were often terrible and one-sided, and a lot of those musicians weren’t well-educated or money-savvy, and were taken advantage of.
Unless they managed to successfully win back control of their music, got good financial advice, and didn’t piss all their money away on drugs, booze, and women, they might be struggling to make ends meet, which is part of the reason why a lot of them are still touring today. As an example, Denny Laine, who was a founding member of the Moody Blues, and was in Wings through the '70s and early '80s, wound up extremely ill from lung issues after contracting COVID in 2022, and his family and friends had to set up a GoFundMe and a benefit concert in his behalf to pay his medical expenses. (He died from lung disease in 2023, at age 79.)
Mine does, to be sure. What qualifies in your opinion? This is not me trying to fight, it’s just that you might be the first person I’ve encountered that has claimed that 70 isn’t there yet. I’ve seen people push back at the notion of 60 or 65 being old, but never 70. But if you feel it is too much of a highjack, I’ll drop it - it’s just curiosity.
Yes, the surprisingly broke Rockstar is a reality many times over. Some of my heroes were such. But we are not talking about Denny Laine, or Mick Karn, or others at that level of once famous and succesful, even living the dream.
The list I provided (Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, AC/DC, ZZ Top, Eagles, Rush, Yes) has core members all securely in the multi-millionaire bracket.
Many people are in bad shape in their 60’s, and many die in their 70’s, true. But those numbers comprise of people from all walks of life, many of them miserable, ranging from long-term illnesses to lousy life decisions. I have friends who died from lung cancer in their 50’s. That’s what 40 years of smoking does to you.
For instance, people who are highly educated, married, non-smokers, non-drinkers & non-druggers, who look after their fitness and maintain a reasonable diet and weight, can be effective workers, thinkers and doers into their 70’s - nothing in particular about them is old. I know many such people. These guys can also drop dead from cancer or heart incident, but it’s not likely.
80’s and beyond, sure: that’s old, no matter how you slice it.
Same here. I had no idea who “Golden Earring” was, but I looked up that song, and thought, oh that song. I’ve always loved that song. I always loved that lyric, “When the bullet hits the bone.”
I know “Radar Love” as well, though it’s just okay to me. It’s not great but definitely not bad. I won’t change the station if it comes on the radio at least.
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