You've probably seen a thread I've posted for a musician with ALS. Why I hate that disease

[highplainsdem]

is explained in part in the OP at https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181674319 , which mentions an online friend of mine who developed ALS in his late 4Os and died when he was only 50, and who allowed his heartbreaking battle against ALS to be filmed.

ALS also struck George Kooymans, the founder, lead guitarist and main songwriter of the Dutch band Golden Earring, ending their career 60 years after the first lineup of the band was formed, 51 years after the final lineup was formed. They're known internationally mostly for two mega-hits in the '70s and '80s, but they had dozens of hit singles and albums in Europe and had never stopped recording and touring, until ALS made that impossible for George.

I'd posted a thread asking for prayers and good vibes for George last summer, because he'd started doing interviews and talking about his illness for the first time since the diagnosis was announced in early 2021. He mentioned no longer being able to play guitar (he'd learned to play when he was 8, was giving guitar lessons at 13). He said he was using a walker and had bought a wheelchair. But in the only new photos I saw last summer, no walker or wheelchair was in sight, though he might've been leaning a bit on his guitar while standing, in one photo taken outside of his home.

Then last week he was given an honorary citizenship by the town in Belgium he lives near. And he made what I think was his first public appearance in months, his entire family accompanying him as he accepted the award. He was in a wheelchair. I linked to an article about this in English at https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181674319#post90 and the direct link is https://netherlands.postsen.com/music/131774/George-Kooymans-74-of-Golden-Earring-honorary-citizen-of-Rijkevorsel-Playing-guitar-is-no-longer-possible-due-to-ALS-Rijkevorsel.html . The article has three photos in a slide show, and it was painful to see that George apparently needs the wheelchair all the time now, even though he's "still as positive and energetic as ever" according to a singer/songwriter friend and collaborator of his, who mentioned George in a New Year's message I posted at https://www.democraticunderground.com/10181674319#post87 . George is still working on music as much as he can, and the third and final album by the supergroup trio he was in with that friend should be released in March. He'd helped that friend with new music for his solo album, and last summer George and another collaborator had released a second album as a duo.

His love of music hasn't died. His wanting to create new music and help other musicians create new music hasn't stopped. And he'd helped a lot of other musicians, as a songwriter and producer as well, and I mentioned some of them in replies in that long thread, and I keep running across more names of artists he produced or helped in other ways.

But ALS is taking a brutal toll on him physically. It's painful to see him in a wheelchair now, though it was good to see him surrounded by his loving family - his wife (his childhood sweetheart and the younger sister of Golden Earring bass player Rinus Gerritsen), their son and daughter and their partners and children.

I'm going to post a tweet with one of the news stories since I don't want to hotlink to the photo:

Link to tweet

EDIT: I just found video from the ceremony including part of an interview then, with George in a very good mood. It was uploaded to YouTube only about 5 minutes after I posted this OP. I've already posted it in reply 2, but will also add it to this OP, after the 6 music videos below. There are Dutch captions, and I'll translate what George said later via Google Translate and add that to reply 2.

I'm posting this because I would like to request more prayers and vibes for him. He has not publicized his battle with ALS as much as my friend Ernie Wallengren did, but he has talked about it and helped raise money for ALS research.

I admire him for doing as much as he can, still. He deserves applause and prayers. So do all the people battling that terrible disease.

And we need a cure for ALS.

Videos below showing George in his 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, the last from what turned out to be Golden Earring's last concert, in late 2019, before Covid hit and canceled their spring 2020 concerts and then George was diagnosed with ALS later in the year. George has won awards and polls as a guitarist - see the guitar solos at about 3:15 and 8:20 in the first video - and music has been his life. I'm sure that if he didn't have ALS, Golden Earring would still be touring. And he'd probably still be busy with side projects with other musicians.

News story video, with an interview, about the ceremony days ago:

[Diamond_Dog]

1. Love this band.

Thanks for posting, highplainsdem.

[highplainsdem]

3. You're very welcome! And I just found video from the ceremony, which I posted

in reply 2 and will add to the OP. Great to see George laughing there.

[highplainsdem]

2. A video with an interview from the ceremony was uploaded to YouTube 5 minutes

Last edited Mon Jan 16, 2023, 05:25 PM - Edit history (2)

after I posted this. First video I've seen of it, from Belgian broadcaster RTV, and George sounds really good during the interview and is smiling and laughing.

There are also captions available, only in Dutch, but I'll type them into Google translate later.

Editing to add that the song you hear other musicians covering there - "Another 45 Miles" - is one of many hits George wrote by himself, before he started co-writing songs with lead singer Barry Hay, whose first language was English so he'd often write the lyrics (though "Twilight Zone" was also written by George alone, and it was the band's biggest hit). "Another 45 Miles" was a huge hit for them, an audience favorite for the next 50 years.

Music video from 1969, when George was 21:

And in 2016, George singing with the other members of the supergroup trio Vreemde Kostgangers, Henny Vrienten (who died last year) and Boudewijn de Groot (still recording and getting some help from George):

EDITING AGAIN because I'd said I would type the subtitles from that video of the citizenship award into Google Translate, and I did - what George had to say, that is, not what the reporter said - but the results weren't very satisfactory, in part because the captions are off. Not sure what happened but the words in captions aren't always what George was saying. When he mentioned Vreemde Kostgangers, for instance, the name of that trio he was in, the caption reads Verendelige Kostgangers, changing the band's name from Strange Boarders to Feathered Boarders. Which would be funny if it weren't also frustrating. Where you see George laughing in the video, he's talking about having felt like one of the townspeople already, going to the same restaurant with friends, and he says something about a playground and something about someone holding a sign, but it doesn't make sense and I think the caption's wrong, and I don't know Dutch well enough to correct it. It might be about someone holding up a sign with his name, since there's something about walking on the street with a sign, but I'm not sure. The captions have "George Pronk" as though it's his name on the sign, maybe, but Google Translate just left that as a name, George Pronk. When I translated "pronk" I found out it means "show off" so maybe this was something about a kid on a playground or the street with a sign calling him a show-off, as a joke (George thought it was funny). But again, I'm not sure.

He mentions that he can't play guitar any more, says he had done some singing for the last Vreemde Kostgangers album several months ago (an album that will be released in March), could still sing well enough then, but "it's all getting a bit limited."

[OAITW r.2.0]

4. I can relate.

My Mom was diagnosed and died from ALS. The most horrible disease I could imagine. The last year of her life was unbelievably sad - to watch her lose all motor function while retaining complete awareness of her situation.

[highplainsdem]

5. {{{{{OAITW r.2.0}}}}} I'm so sorry. What a terrible thing for her to

go through, and for you and all those who loved her to watch.

[OAITW r.2.0]

12. Thanks highplainsde,.

That was a particularly awful year. Not only was I dealing with my mom's situation, but my farmhouse burned down in July. Lost pretty much everything. With 2 middle school kids....homeless. Rented a lake front cottage, though, so the kids had a fun summer. Mom passed in September, then I spent 5 days in the hospital getting a stent put on a blood vessel, somewhere above my nose...experienced bad nose bleeds for 2 weeks before getting the emergency surgery.

It was the most trying time of my life, but by December the family was in our new log home that has specular views out to Western Maine. Such is the way life can challenge you.....

[highplainsdem]

13. What a nightmare of a year! I'm so sorry you and your family went through all of

that, but thank God you got the emergency surgery in time (your family needed you so much, and you were there for them), and you were able to replace the farmhouse you lost with a lovely new home with spectacular views. You must have a lot of strength to have dealt with that, but I hope you never have another year that challenging.

[mike_c]

6. Sad. My partner's stepson died of ALS a few years ago.

He was a professional musician too.

[highplainsdem]

8. How tragic. Your partner's stepson must have been fairly young, then, when diagnosed,

like my friend Ernie (who was in his 40s).

[progressoid]

7. I remember my sister having this compilation double LP with Radar Love on it.

https://www.discogs.com/release/1624466-Various-Heavy-Metal-24-Electrifying-Performances

I was just a kid but I'd play that thing over and over.

[highplainsdem]

10. Looks like a great album! Kudos to your sister for having that and exposing you to such

classic rock when you were a kid.

Golden Earring had their first hit in the Netherlands in 1965 - 8 years before "Radar Love" - and they could still sell out arenas in 2019. Some of their early fans might have great-grandkids who were Earring fans at those last concerts.

[Brother Buzz]

9. On the heels of the 40th anniversary of "The Catch" I offer this (Dwight Clark had some chops)

[highplainsdem]

11. Thanks for posting that! I didn't realize Dwight Clark was a great singer as well as a great

football player.

He thought playing football might have caused his ALS, and there have been studies suggesting it could.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/can-als-be-caused-by-traumatic-brain-injury-202202022680

Between 1960 and 2019, 19,423 men played in the National Football League (NFL). During that time period, 38 were diagnosed with ALS and 28 died of the disease.

Among these current and former football players, the risk of developing ALS and dying of the disease was nearly four times higher than that of men in the general population.

NFL players who developed ALS had a longer average football career (seven years) than those without the disease (4.5 years).

Many NFL players were in their mid-30s at the time of their ALS diagnosis. This is quite a bit younger than is typical for ALS.