A warm feeling and deep respect: that remains at Peter Koelewijn after the death of George Kooymans. The Golden Earring guitarist died on Wednesday at the age of 77 from the consequences of ALS. “He helped me my big hit,” says Koelewijn.
The Eindhoven singer (84), known from, among others, ‘Come from that roof’, was called on Wednesday morning by the Van Kooymans family with the sad news. He saw it coming, but did not know that the moment would already be. “When he said he had this disease, you already knew where it would go,” says Koelewijn.
He visited his friend for the last time in April. “Then he was at an advanced stage, that was not nice to see. I could still talk to him, but he was hard talking. I had to be patient for that.”
Yet the death came unexpectedly close. “I was planning to visit one these days, but his death caught up with me. I would have liked to see him again.”
Friendship
The friendship between the two musicians started in Soest in the 60s, where they lived together in the street. “At 30 meters away. From the start we were able to find it pretty well. We exchanged data and spoke a lot about music. He was working on the Earring, I with my music.” That friendship has always remained, although they saw each other less often. “We were not together on the lip every week.”
Koelewijn knew early that George was diagnosed with ALS. “He wanted to play the guitar, but could not hold his plectrum anymore. The next day it didn’t work and soon after he got the diagnosis like. I thought that was a shame.” In that disease, the muscles are increasingly falling out and ultimately also the respiratory muscles.
‘Fantastic guy’
Yet their conversations were not about the disease. “I was not waiting for that and he didn’t. But you ask how things are going and then it was about music and developments. He kept everything.”
One of the last times that Koelewijn saw him hit him deep. He received the book Radar Love From him, which was about the biggest hit of Golden Earring. “I was really proud of that. I almost wanted to ask if he wanted to sign him, but that was no longer possible at the time.”
What Koelewijn will miss the most? The conversations. “We learned a lot from each other. I am happy that I knew him. It was a fantastic guy, very amical and interested in all directions and currents of music.”
Kooymans also taught him to listen differently to artists. “Sometimes I said that I didn’t like a band or artist. Then he said,” You shouldn’t say that, “and he explained why it wasn’t. That was so interesting. He had a certain kind of humor that I also have.”
In 1998, Kooymans produced an album for the son of Peter Koelewijn, Joep, who then in the band Catch 22 fed up. “I thought that was really fantastic.”
You get older daddy
There is one memory that stands out for Koelewijn above all: the creation of his hit ‘You are becoming older daddy’. His son Joep was very young then and would play with a boyfriend.
That boy saw George sitting in the garden and asked for a signature. “Then he came to me:” Sir, do you know where Joepie is? ” I said: “I don’t know where he is” and he laughed so hard and said: “I get older, daddy.”
