THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,572) The Golden Earrings — “That Day”
This song is by my favorite British beat group . . . from the Netherlands. But warning: If you are Dutch, read no further! The Golden Earrings’ (see #63, 163, 319, 1,215, 1,504, 1,560) 3rd A-side, written by guitarist George Kooymans and bassist Marinus Gerritsen, reached #2 in the charts in ’66, stopped from reaching #1 only by the Beatles’ “Michelle”. Ironic, because it is such a dead ringer for the Beatles that Paul McCartney must have woken up one morning wondering if he had written it! “Unreleased Beatles song? lol” (alphasigmasezon8597 (courtesy of Google Translate), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_diAWMf0RE) “For me this remains the[ir] most beautiful song”. (pietkeizer5279 (courtesy of Google Translate), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_diAWMf0RE)
Kremer Henk (courtesy of Google Translate) tells us that:
[T]he band . . . took the ferry to London, where the Earrings had booked a recording day at the Pye Studios. Partly out of dissatisfaction with the Dutch studios at the time and also because the manager was not averse to a stunt. [It] was the first Dutch pop song to be recorded in England. The single was received as a sensation; immediately after returning home, The Golden Earrings appeared on television with Willem Duys in his popular talk show Voor de vuist weg. Nothing was left to chance to ensure that the highest position in the charts would be reached.
https://www.hitzound.com/the-golden-earrings-that-day-flashback-1966/
The song stayed in the Dutch Top 40 for fifteen weeks (https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_day_(Golden_Earring) (courtesy of Google Translate)) and “[a]round 80.000 copies were sold altogether. . . . an unbelievable sale for a Dutch artist.” (albino moon, https://www.45cat.com/record/421023)
Not only could the Earrings sound just as if they had washed up on a bank of the Mersey, a feat in and of itself, they also wrote great songs. Unlike some groups, they didn’t have the luxury of having Lennon and McCartney donate to the cause. The Earrings have earned a lot of good will in my book — everything that happened in the 70’s is forgiven! As Mark Deming writes:
Golden Earring were hailed as one of the hottest new bands in America when the song “Radar Love” . . . was released in 1973. Funny thing was, Golden Earring were hardly a new band; while they weren’t well known outside the Netherlands, in their native Holland they were major stars who had been scoring hits for eight years.
Of the Earrings, Kieron Tyler tells us:
They were always melodic . . . their music combined the tough chunkiness of The Who and The Kinks with the minor-key, brooding melodies of The Zombies. . . . Where bands like the rough-hewn Outsiders [see #615, 664, 1,218] defined the edgy sound of Amsterdam, the more polished Golden Earrings defined the sound of The Hague. . . . The[ir] roots . . . lie in The Tornados, a band formed by 13-year-old George Kooymans and 15-year-old Marinus Gerritsen in 1962. . . . An instrumental outfit, their repertoire included Shadows and Ventures numbers. . . . The Hague . . . was stuffed with rock ‘n’ roll bands and competition was tough. . . . [The] boom was fuelled by bands made up from Indonesian immigrants. Indo-Rock had been born. . . . After the British Tornados’ Telstar became a Dutch hit in late 1962 . . . . the band chose The Golden Earrings, from the standard that Peggy Lee had a hit with in 1948. . . . [B]y the end of 1963, it became clear that the shifting musical climate meant the band would have to incorporate vocals. Frans Krassenburg became their singer in early 1964. . . . The[ir] break came in July 1965 . . . . Freddy Haayen saw the band at their regular venue Club 192 . . . . [and] said he worked for Polydor Records and that he wanted to record them. Actually, he was an architecture student who also worked as a trainee at Polydor’s warehouse. The Golden Earrings didn’t know this and duly turned up . . . to record four tracks . . . . Haayen had made good on his bluff and scored a deal with Polydor. Released in September, “Please Go” . . . reach[ed] number 10. . . . In September they played with The Who; November saw them teamed up with The Kinks. . . . [T]he band[‘s] first album, Just Earrings[, r]eleased [in] November 1965 . . . showcased the band’s supreme confidence. . . . [They] were already making records that should have been heard beyond the borders of their native Holland. . . . While other Dutch legends like Q’65 [see #108, 557, 913, 1,164, 1,227, 1,356] and The Outsiders were unhinged and freaked-out, The Golden Earrings focused their energies on structure and songwriting. . . . A year [after Just Earrings] they were riding high after three hit singles[, a]ll . . . kinetic numbers that relied on driving rhythms to make their mark. When the next single arrived in late August 1966 it became clear The Golden Earrings were absorbing the new textures that could be applied to pop. . . . [with] “Daddy Buy Me A Girl” [see #163]. . . . [I]n late November when it was announced that rhythm guitarist Peter de Ronde had left the band. . . . Continuing as a four piece . . . the band immediately began recording . . . Winter Harvest . . . . [which] was a quantum leap. There were no cover versions, and no songs that had already been issued as singles. . . . Overall . . . the sound was of a band that were in total control and utterly confident. . . . They played dates in Stockholm and Hamburg just before the release of Winter Harvest, and also licensed the album to Capitol Records in America. . . . But they didn’t find an American audience . . . . Back home, “In My House” and “Smoking Cigarettes” were extracted . . . as a single coupling in April 1967. As usual it was another massive Dutch hit. The single was followed by the departure of vocalist Frans Krassenburg. His replacement was Barry Hay, the frontman of Hague band The Haigs [see #138] . . . .
https://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2011/11/the-golden-earrings-just-ear-rings-1965.html, https://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2011/12/golden-earrings-winter-harvest-1966.html
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