Editing Golden Earring (section)

===Early years (1961–1969)===
What became Golden Earring was formed in 1961 in [[The Hague]] by 13-year-old George Kooymans and his 15-year-old neighbor, Rinus Gerritsen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=NWS |first=VRT |date=2021-02-05 |title=Rockband Golden Earring stopt ermee door ziekte van bandlid George Kooymans |url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2021/02/05/rockband-golden-earring-stopt-ermee-door-ziekte-van-bandlid-geor/ |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=vrtnws.be |language=nl}}</ref> Originally called "the Tornados", the name was changed to '''the Golden Earrings'''<ref name="LarkinHR"/> when they discovered that the name [[the Tornados]] was already in use by another group. The name "the Golden Earrings" was taken from an instrumental called "Golden Earrings" performed by the British group [[The Hunters (instrumental band)|the Hunters]], for whom they served as opening and closing act.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Slagwerkkrant.nl |title=Golden Earring na zestig jaar gedwongen om te stoppen |url=https://www.slagwerkkrant.nl/nieuws/artikel/2-25186/golden-earring-na-zestig-jaar-gedwongen-om-te-stoppen |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Slagwerkkrant.nl}}</ref> Initially a pop-rock band with Frans Krassenburg on lead vocals and [[Jaap Eggermont]] on drums, the Golden Earrings had a hit with their debut single "Please Go", recorded in 1965.<ref name=huey/><ref name="LarkinHR"/> Dissatisfied with Dutch recording studios, the band's manager and co-discoverer Fred Haayen arranged for the next single to be recorded at the [[Pye Records]] studios in London. The record cut at Pye, "That Day", reached number two on the Dutch charts.{{CN|date=November 2021}} The definite article was dropped from the name in 1967, and the plural "s" was dropped in 1969.<ref name=huey>{{cite web |last=Huey |first=Steve |title=Golden Earring Biography |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/golden-earring-mn0000669303/biography |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=28 July 2015}}</ref>

In 1968, [[Barry Hay]] joined the band, replacing Krassenburg as frontman. Two years later, the band earned their first number one hit in the Netherlands with the song "Dong Dong Diki Digi Dong".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Toen Op 1: Dong-Dong-Di-Ki-Di-Gi-Dong {{!}} Top 40-nieuws |url=https://www.top40.nl/binnen-bij-nieuws-toen-op-1-dong-dong-di-ki-di-gi-dong |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Top40.nl |language=nl}}</ref> In the United States, ground work for entering the US market was being laid by East Coast FM radio disc jockey and music critic Neil Kempfer-Stocker, who is credited as the first radio DJ to play the band in the US. This single was followed by a successful psychedelic album ''[[Eight Miles High (album)|Eight Miles High]]'',<ref name="LarkinHR"/> which featured a 19-minute version of the title track, a cover of the [[Eight Miles High|1966 hit song]] by [[the Byrds]]. The song, played throughout their US tour, became the core performance of their live shows, and their experience in the US led them to make their studio albums resemble their live shows, rather than the other way around.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TqU5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT219 |page=219 |title=Made in the Low Countries: Studies in Popular Music |series=Routledge Global Popular Music Series |editor1-first=Lutgard |editor1-last=Mutsaers |editor2-first=Gert |editor2-last=Keunen |publisher=Routledge |year=2017 |isbn=9781317417941 |first=Maarten |last=Steenmeijer |chapter=Before and After: Golden Earring Before and After the 'Dutch Invasion'}}</ref> The band's American records during this period were issued by the [[Perception Records]] label in New York, and the band's ''[[Golden Earring (album)|Golden Earring]]'' LP, known as ''Wall of Dolls'', and single "Back Home" performed poorly in the US but became a number 1 hit in the Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vandaag in 1970: grootste hit Golden Earring komt binnen |url=https://www.top40.nl/nieuws-nieuws-vandaag-in-1970-grootste-hit-golden-earring-komt-binnen |access-date=2025-01-28 |website=Top40.nl |language=nl}}</ref>