Hi all, as promised I started today with the Golden Earring album by album, single by single thread. I decided to treat the non album singles as separate entities because there are quite a lot of them, and especially in the 60s they had a string of hit singles without an album. I try to do one album a week, singles might come somewhere between. The Golden Earrings were founded in 1961 by George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen, than 13 and 15. Main musical influences at the time were the British guitar bands as well as the Indo rock bands that were playing actively in the “Den Haag” area (one of the main reasons that Den Haag had more beat bands in the early 60s than any other town in the Netherlands). The band started as the Tornados, but after discovering that there was a band of the same name they changed to Golden Earrings after the Peggy Lee song with which they usually opened their set. Their version was the instrumental one as recorded in 1961 by the Hunters. In 1965 they were booked in Club 192 (a well known venue in the Hague at the time) where they were approached by Freddy Haayen after the concert. Freddy claimed he worked for Polydor as a producer and wanted them on the label and bet heir manager. What he forgot to mention is that he was not a big shot there, more a storage employee. Nevertheless they recorded the single “Please Go” there with the b-side “Chunk of Steel”. The single reached around 20 in the Dutch top 40 and they reached around 20. For the label this was enough to allow them to record an album: Just Earrings. And that is where we kick off. Just Ear-Rings (Polydor 007) The Golden Earrings - 01 - Nobody But You (1965) - YouTube (this link is the whole album) Recorded 1965 at the Phonogram Studios Tracklist 1. Nobody But You (2:18) 2. I Hate Saying These Words (2:17) 3. She May Be (1:47) 4. Holy Witness (2:47) 5. No Need to Worry (2:04) 6. Please Go (2:56) 7. Sticks and Stones (1:41) 8. I Am a Fool (2:06) 9. Don't Stay Away (2:10) 10. Lonely Everyday (1:42) 11. When People Talk (2:47) 12. Now I Have (1:38) Members Frans Krassenburg - vocals George Kooymans - guitar, zang Rinus Gerritsen – bass , keyboard Jaap Eggermont - drums Peter de Ronde – guitar Connected singles Please Go/Chunck of Steel Lonely Every Day/Not to Find The ban was called Golden Ear-Rings at the time (shortly after the “-“ was dropped. Vocals were shared by Frans Krassenburg and George Kooymans. The album is clearly influenced by the British Scene at the time. The lead single has a clear Beatles influence with a very distinct harmonica. But also other influences can be recognized. No need to worry has a distinct Kinks sound, and we also hear pieces of Animals and Small Faces. As for the singles, Please Go sometimes appeared on the setlist in later days when the guys are in a nostalgic mood. For Frans Krassenburg it’s a number often played at "The Golden Years of Dutch Pop Music" tour. Lonely Every Day was never released because the b-side Not to Find had a serious mistake in English grammar. It did appear later on a grey market Pebbles release and also by accident on the first edition of a compilation album. The albums has its fans. Some fans of the 60s Dutch music scene prefer this version of the band above the later rock albums. Personally I think it's not a bad album, but also one of their weaker. The sound is not very original and it has some filler. I am seriously interested in your reactions, especially since most of you hear this for the first time. As for the Dutch people here, please add trivia. Maybe some of you have seen them live with Frans Krassenburg.
Live on Scheveningen Beach Golden Earring - Please Go - YouTube Frans Krassenburg: Please Go - YouTube The Golden Earrings - Chunk Of Steel - YouTube golden earring Not to Find - YouTube
I think the album is pretty mediocre - but then I remember, George was only 17 when recording/writing this stuff. I think the rest of the band were slightly older (I know Rinus is 2 years older than George). I like it a lot more than other bands who were allowed to make an album after 1 or 2 hits. That live version of Please Go by Frans Krassenburg is a tough listen though!
Frans hadn't sung for years when he was asked to do that tour. Still I can imagine lots of melancholic people of 70 and older attending the concert. It's the Clarks as the backing band that save the song a bit.
Thanks Edwin for starting this thread and for the excellent info and links. I have the Complete Studio Recordings box and I guess I’ve played this album twice. My initial reaction at the time was that they sounded very much derivative of the English beat-pop bands and in particular Herman’s Hermits! Please Go is a memorable song though. I’m away from my stereo for a week so I will have a deep listen when I get back and pitch in my more detailed comments. I’m looking forward to getting involved in this discussion, thank you once again
Thanks for doing this. Should be an interesting thread (for me anyways). I never liked any of the early band stuff that I've heard, that is the 60's pop music like this album. I can't remember which of the early albums (including all of the releases when they were called Earrings instead of Earring) I bought along the way but can say now that the earliest album by them that I kept is Eight Miles High so I must not have liked any of the earlier ones.
They gradually shifted in a less poppy direction. The first important step in this was replacing singer Frans Krassenburg. On the Double and Eight Miles High are imo the transitional albums. But we'll get to that.
Great thread, Edwin. Will remain in lurching mode until 'On The Double' when "my personal GE era" starts. Looking forward to all posts here. Cheers, Sq.
I'am a big Earringfan, but i do not like this album. Earring as a rockband is great. As a beat band not so great.
As mentioned earlier, the second single was not released because the band hated the grammar mistake in Not to find. A new single was recorded in January 1966 in the Pye studios in London. It sounds much better than its precursor, not only because of the more professional studio but also because of the addition of piano. It's more up-tempo and has a much fuller sound. Don't think they played the song later in their career. That day (b-side The Words I Need) reached number 2 in the Dutch charts, only kept from the number 1 spot by Michelle (of which the sales from the Overlanders and the Beatles version were lumped together).
here's the unreleased track Not To Find it's the literally translation of Not To Be Found as the Dutch say it.
If I want to present the next album this weekend, there is still a number of singles to present. Follow up of That Day was the single "If You Leave Me", with on the b-side "Waiting for You" Not my favourite single from these days, I even prefer the b-side which already points a bit to the sound on the second album. The single was released may 1966 and peaked at number 9 in the Dutch charts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCJol1qI6yg
This is great work Edwin. I get home tomorrow and will post in some comments after I’ve given them a spin. I really enjoy the Neder-Beat era as well as the rock-era Earring, I think many of George’s songs are great anyway.
In the mean time a single was released to promote a well-known cola brand. The a side (Things go better with Coke ) included the intro of That Day. The b-side was a cover of Rum and Coca Cola. The band was paid with a brand new van, which they crashed shortly after IIRC. The single was given away for free with the magazine Teen Beat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqj0m5FXP6c
Thanks. To be honest, it's fun doing this and gives me an excuse to relisten their discography. This week I got news on the radio that bass player Rinus Gerritsen has joined Supersister for their next tour.
They really pulled off a scoop getting sponsorship by coke! Do you know any details about how The Earrings or their management managed to do this? Think I remember an article where Rinus said their van was a pretty big deal and the other bands hated them for having it! Too bad they crashed it pretty early on.
Recommended buying for this period is the 3 originals package which contains the first three albums plus the singles. Golden Earrings – 3 Originals: Just Earrings / Winter Harvest / Miracle Mirror (1999, CD) - Discogs Alternative is to get the albums plus the Golden Years of Dutch Pop Music compilation Golden Earrings – The Golden Years Of Dutch Pop Music (A&B Sides And More) (2015, CD) - Discogs