Remembering 2025’s Music Losses: George Kooymans

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Another day, another musician who’ll cause you to shrug when you see the name…and then you hear the song. That’s one of the reasons I do these tributes (both the monthly music lists and the look back over the year): songs are usually better remembered than the band’s name or definitely the singer in the band! Here’s the man who gave us an all-time rock classic. George Kooymans No suspense: Golden Earring. Still no bells ringing? “Radar Love”! The song that brought Brenda Lee’s song “Comin’ on Strong” back to prominence because of its mention in the song (“Radio’s playing some forgotten song, Brenda Lee’s ‘Comin’ on Strong’”). George Kooymans was a main songwriter in the Dutch band. He was responsible for their two biggest American hits, “Radar Love” and “Twilight Zone.” Although they were limited to just those two hits in America, in the Netherlands they had 30 top ten singles. Here’s a sweet thing to say about Golden Earring: their lineup remained unchanged from 1970 until guitarist George Kooymans announced he had to quit because he had ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease as we call it here in America). (It was a family affair, too: Kooyman’s wife was bassist Rinus Gerritsen’s sister. ) Instead of replacing him, Golden Earring called it a career. They’re scheduled to do some tribute/farewell concerts this year, but they aren’t replacing Kooymans. The complications of ALS took Kooyman’s life in July 2025. We’ll always have that classic “Radar Love” to drive down the highway to. George Kooymans Born George Jan Kooymans, March 11, 1948, The Hague, Netherlands Died July 22, 2025, Rijkevorsel, Belgium (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) (age 77) The classic “Radar Love”: