Twilight Zone for sure. When I first heard it as a preteen I thought it was a brand new New Wave Rock act. Took me a few years to realize they where a classic Classic Rock band. The video along with the fresh sound (at that time) fooled me I guess.
@@TheChristafershawn They were definitely legit rockers disguised as an 80s pop band. I was in high school when Twilight Zone came out. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I heard Golden Earring was back! I had been suffocating from sappy synth pop and pretentious new wave, mourning the loss of big, loud rock. It wasn't exactly a hard rocker, but it was intense, and it was Golden Earring, after all those years. It came outta nowhere! (In the US anyway. Just another masterpiece among many in the Netherlands. What a great music scene they've had!)
They had better rock tunes that never got air play. This is true with a lot of albums by bands. I value music by how it sounds to my ears, not because some top 10 list tells me what's best and where they rank.
Back in 1978, I was listening to this song on the Panasonic 8-track in my 1968 Mustang, cruising down the road and got stopped for speeding. The trooper asked if I knew how fast I was going, I answered not really, I was listening to Radar Love and lost track of speed. He said, well I've done that too, and since you were only going 80, I'm just giving you a warning this time. Golden Earring saved me a few bucks.
Only going 80??? Yeah, things were different. I suppose cops are only human. They have feelings and sentiments. He probably wished he had your car! Cool story!
@@beenaplumber8379 The trooper and I were basically the only cars on the road at the time, and I immediately pulled over and didn't give him any attitude. That probably helped too.
@@ProfessorofRock You're the best! I always listen to your videos right before my students come into my classroom. It gives me a charge of energy that lasts throughout the morning. Please don't stop any time soon because I *LOVE* learning new things every day!!
Well dude you did it I shed a tear. I lost my best friend last month. We went back 54 years and in 1974 we were in 9th grade. This song was often played over the last 15 years as we played a round of golf ⛳. I really enjoy your channel you take me back to when I was a boy, a teenager, and a young man. ✌🏽
Now: 70 years young~~~ Professor of Rock; This time you got me~~~Reminiscing back to 1973-74 summertime. 1972 Nova Rally Sport with G50x14s on the back (Big Fat Tires) 350 engine (8 Cylinders) and Factory AM/FM - 8 Track Tape Player in the dash. Cruising along the Lake, going to Sunset Beach and the Old Iron Bridge, checking out the scene with my buddies. Stereo turned up loud, playing a custom recorded tape (Stereo system with an 8 Track Recorder Deck) with some of the songs recorded off the radio (Thanks WDVE) including ***Highway Star - Deep Purple*** In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry***Hitchin' A Ride - Vanity Fare***Fun Fun Fun - The Beach Boys***Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Jan and Dean***Little GTO - Ronnie and The Daytons***Little Deuce Coupe - Beach Boys***I Fought The Law - Bobby Fuller Four***Judy In Disguise With Glasses - John Fred & His Playboys Band*** and more. 80 minutes of going anywhere songs.
Radar Love is def on the staylist! I commute 150 miles each way to my job and will never listen to this song the same way again… another great lesson. 👍🏼👍🏼
@@bobdavis4848 Do you need help with that stick? BTW, Bob, I now live in Germany and have actually listened to the song while doing 160mph+ on the Autobahn 😛
I was about 7th grade when this song came out. My buddy asked me what my favorite song was. I said "King of Nothing" by Seals and Croft. He blasted me saying that Seals and Croft was not real Rock n' Roll. He played Radar Love for me - and I got it. Now that's Rock n' Roll. Great song. Great memories.
I’ll never forget the night on my California FM’er that had a signal that came in like a ton of bricks at VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE! I got a call from an airman who had just bought a set of new speakers THAT DAY, and he asked if I’d play Radar Love so he could crank it up and test out those new speakers. I told him I’d be glad to, and had the song on the air within five minutes! He called me back when it was over and thanked me - and then he told me he was working… IN THE RADAR STATION AT THE BASE!
Hey Adam! I wanted to thank you for not only being an amazing Professor of rock, but also for including where hits landed on the charts in the rest of the world! Most Americans are so focused on themselves, that they don't even pretend the rest of us exist. I know the bands appreciate their fans all over the world, and I know you love the history down to the atomic level!! I really love your channel. Take care man.
I'm one of the Philistines. The classic rock station in Chicago played this song way too much (and anything by Skynyrd) to the point where I just can't stand it anymore.
@@Fregulus5 I get it. Went on a 15 hour drive and every cassette I had with me was Foreigner, when i couldn't take it anymore went to radio and they were playing Foreigner. Took years before I could listen to them again but I have fully recovered.
I'm another Philistine. Just never got hooked into this one. It was ok the first couple times I heard it, but that was enough for me. I find it tedious. 🤷 Great stories though. They certainly earned their rock laurels. 🫡
Saw Golden Earring in Germany in 86 only knowing of “radar love”. The show they put on that night was truly special. And what a deep catalogue!! Love em!!!
❤🎉 Absolutely love Radar Love! The song just keeps speeding up until almost the end. And yes, it probably has led to more speeding tickets than one can count. Thanks Professor. Great shirt.
Professor, I would like to thank you for solving a major ear worm I had for years I never had a chance to resolve due to misremembered lyrics. The moment you played The Twilight Zone at 13:49, I screamed, THAT IS IT. This unresolved issue plagued me for over a year as no one recognized the tune and me listening to Greatest Hits of (Insert all male band here) over and over again. I watched your videos with my fingers crossed hoping to get it from you and you came in. THANK YOU!!! You have no idea what a relief this is for me!
"There is this great song from my youth I have been trying to find now for years ... but I just can't remember the lyrics to google them. They are like almost within reach but I just can't seem to actually hear them clearly in my mind. Such a bummer man. I guess this is just one of those songs that got lost in the twilight zone for me". ... "Oh wait!"
In 1976 I got my first car a 69 javelin, installed an eight track immediately and started my collection. This gem was certainly among them and I drove countless miles with Radar Love cranked. My son once said to me " thank you for the gift of the love of music." As I thank my dad for his shared love. It's great how a song can evoke so many warm memories in us. Thanks Professor keep'em comin' . :)
OMG!!! AMC cars were the best!!! My first car was an AMC, a 71 Hornet (wagon, grasshopper green), and if I had my wish, I'd still be driving an AMC, probably a 2024 Gremlin! It was so easy to work on that engine. There was so much room under the hood I could curl up and sleep on either side of the 258 straight six. I LOVED my AMC!!!
We had Chevy guys, Mopar heads, and Ford Fanatics but driving anything AMC was like declaring to the world that you had no pen!s! The AMX got grudging respect on the street but just barely.
@@Frankie5Angels150 That's just weird, especially given the success of the Javelin in stock car racing around the world. (US and Australia anyway.) When they put a V8 in the Gremlin... legendary! It was already a screamer in the smallest engine - a straight-six 238, in a 2-seat compact car! I saw a modded V8 Gremlin with a scoop on the hood in a fan race after the main event at the local track in 2001, and the Gremlin beat a Corvette, owned, driven, and customized for racing (still street-legal) by a guy who owned a shop that did custom performance mods for Corvettes. When I was a teenager I thought Chevy, Mopar, and Ford were for people who didn't know any better! 😛
I grew up in the middle of nowhere and we would go own long drives so that we could blast our music without scaring the townsfolk. One time, we were cruising down the road at twilight and this song came on. We were screaming the lyrics as we drove through the Mississippi night. What a great memory.
I too grew up in a rural area. Those drives with music playing were and are magical. I really miss living in the country. Glad to know someone else also enjoyed that wonderful feeling.
Most underrated band in rock history. Period. 30+ albums. 1 of a very few bands that could "change with the times" and do it well. Started around the same time as the beatles. Thx for showing them a lil well deserved credit👍
I remember this song from when it was on the radio as a kid. All this time, my interpretation of the ending was, after all the driving, the guy arrives to find that his girl left him.. I never knew until this video that the guy died in a crash and never made it! Well, you learn something new every day. Radar Love is still one of the coolest songs of the era. A song that still stands the test of time and always will. I always learn something on this channel!
Was to see Golden Earring at the COW Palace as opening band. Bill Graham came out and said they were not able to make it but he had two other bands to replace them. First was B-52s and they lasted 1/2 a song. Bill Graham came out and said, hold on you'll be amazed by the next band. The band came out, played their first song, the crowd was in awe and quiet until the end of that 1st song - then, they erupted like nothing I'd ever heard. That was The Runaways.
Summer of my 8th grade, me and my buddies attending a school dance at a different school, nervous and trying to be cool calling the whole thing lame until the band covered this song. We all decided to stay and even got up the nerve to ask a few girls to dance. Ya it was a great time, thanks Golden Earring!
I started my drivers education course in the summer of 1975 and it was my first time where I would be behind the wheel. I got in the drivers seat, put on my seat belt, adjusted the mirrors, and just as I was about to drop it into gear, Radar Love comes on over the radio. I looked over at my instructor and in a very stern way, he shook his head as in “don’t even think about it”. Had we not been in a 1976 AMC Pacer, I might’ve ignored him lol. Nowdays, my favorite driving song at night when I’m alone is “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” from traffic. It’s a definite mood!
I have heard Radar Love on the radio many times over the years by Golden Earring and also Twilight Zone several years later but they had a lot of other good songs as well but these are the two well known hit songs they play regularly thanks for the memories and have a great Wednesday Professor.🎶🎶📻📻🎶🎶
The album Moontan is really amazinig if you're into 70s arena rock. It's artistic, almost progressive, and massive! My friend's wife is named Candy (Candace), so of course I introduced him to the track Candy's Going Bad. In hindsight, he should have punched me. Hard. The lyrics are nasty!!! I was such a naughty boy... And it's MoonTan, like a sun tan (also spelled suntan - give them a break - English isn't their native tongue). Like a sun tan, only it's the moon. I don't know why Adam says it with the Dutch accent. 😛 And hellz yeah, Twilight Zone! A blessed relief at a time when hard rock was in its death throes.
With your first words I knew you were doing this. I love Golden Earring. I never imagined they only had 1 #1 hit in the US. This is so utterly awesome. I didn't realize they were not American. Their music videos for "N.E.W.S." album are so much fun. Thank you for doing this. "When the Lady Smiles" is my fav, but this is classic!
This is such a great song!!! I've always loved to listen to it loud on the radio in the car. Great driving song. Love that bass guitar. As far as I know I always loved the song but the time that I 100% remember loving it was ... Chicago auto show, don't remember the year. Pontiac was still a name in cars. They had a black Firebird Trans AM they had a back drop for the car that made it look like it was on the road and they had this stuff all over the car that made it look like it was in the rain and rain drops were all over the car and Radar Live was blasting behind it. I just remember thinking awesome song and for an awesome car. I kept going back to that car and kept listening to Radar Love pretending that the car was going fast through the rain with beads of rain perfectly dancing on the car to the beat of the song!!!
Wow, what a show! I saw 38 Special in 95(? some time 94-96) in LaCrosse, WI, and I had somehow worked my way into the audio engineer's booth for their entire set after chatting with him before the show, and what an amazing show it was! And pairing them with Golden Earring??? That's a brilliant bill with two very complimentary acts. Sorry, I love 38 Special, but Golden Earring was the opening act for them when Twilight Zone was current? That's just bizarre. So Caught Up in You was 38 Special's hit at the time, if I remember right, and it was basically Hold On Loosely reworked - their only other real hit (and it was a good one!). Two hits - one incredible, one a remake of the incredible one. Golden Earring also had two big hits (in the US), RADAR Effing LOVE, and Twilight Zone! Not at all like each other (aside from the bass-oriented jam sections). 38 Special had plenty of depth and variety, but how the hell did they become the headline act with Golden Earring on the ticket??? Nothing but love for both bands, and I truly mean that, they're peers in every way, I just wish I'd seen that show!
Oh yeah these guys are great, I saw them live back in the early 80's. It does seem like they have to put out a total smash to chart in America though. Radar Love and Bullet hits the Bone are bonafide classics here. Other than those two I can't remember hearing their music on American radio. This a well deserved deep dive 🫡
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Yes, Indianapolis, Indiana. They opened for someone but I can't remember who that was. I was a big fan of Twilight Zone ( Bullet hits the bone. ) I had bought my first Walkman at 14 and that song just sounded great coming through those headphones 🎧
I have to admit that I did not know Twilight Zone and Radar Love were from the same band. Which is one reason I watch your content. Learn all about the songs that I did not know I adored and miss and am now purchasing.
Radar Love was huge for me. It peaked during my late teens, just when i was able to enjoy the heck out of it. To this day, when it comes on, i tell my wife, "no talking until the song ends" !! She smiles because she knows I'm serious.
"Born to be Wild" always causes me to speed in my car. Hahaha. If it comes on while I'm driving, I have to consciously make myself slow down. 😊 BTW, I never get tired of hearing Radar Love. Oh Brenda Lee! I always wondered what he said right there. 😊💜👍😎
Professor Do you have any books from a place called Record Research? I have many of them. Awesome reference books about the Billboard Charts. BTW. I don’t work for them
Saw them open for “the Who” in Frankfort, Germany in 1972. I had never heard of them before and I don’t remember a single song they played, but they had so much energy that they just blew everyone away. We were still catching our breath when “the Who” took the stage. It was like being hit by a Mack truck. We were all stunned. I’ll never forget that performance.
Wild story on this all time classic, funny how so many songs are just jam sessions with a groove then an artist starts laying down lyrics and the band just improvises as they lay it down having no idea their work will be studied and copied by so many other bands and not even realizing they are creating a staple of rock. Fantastic episode professor as always, you never let me down with your research.
Wow. This is one of my favorite songs ever. And somehow, I never caught on that in the end the driver dies. Mind. Blown. Still one of my favorite songs ever.
@@jeffalbillar7625 I'm glad to add that it was just brought to my attention that cowriter Barry Hay said in an interview that the character dies. But that writer quote is what proves it, not the song itself, where the lyrics are ambiguous about end fate of the driver. What you call a swear word in Spanish, proof, is what court convictions hang on. I'm glad I don't just trust everything I see and hear without evaluation.
Greatest cruising song would be "Radar Love," of course, but "Twilight Zone" holds a special place in my heart, because my wife and I used it for our first dance at the reception.
I'm a big watcher of the channel, but I have never commented I believe. Adam, I just wanna say thank you for having a channel I can keep coming back to for compelling, intriguing, confusing, hilarious, and exciting stories behind music's greatest songs. I am 24 and love a whole bunch of music before my birth year, 2000, and these stories just emphasize my love for music. Dealing with Autism, Type 2 Bipolar, and Combined Type ADHD is a rather challenging daily thing, but music... It just has something to it. Makes you wanna keep going, keep moving, keep dancing, and keep finding new songs, even if they aren't newly released. Keep the videos coming and I will keep watching!! ^^
Awesome Song!! Never new unit recent how old it was. Don't think I heard it until 1977!! Doesn't sound that old! Perhaps a couple years ahead of it's time ⁉️ OHHHH That Brenda Lee!!?? That's Awesome also. Thought it was his girlfriend in the passenger seat? Thanks again Adam! Peace 🕊️☮️♾️😎
Being from New Jersey and having gone to Great Adventure Amusement Park a lot in my life...I will forever equate this group to the deadly fire at their "haunted castle" which killed eight kids. Golden Earring was the band that nite and whilst it burned, they played...probably unaware of the magnitude of the disaster. So, each time I hear it, that's what I think of. Great song; horrible memories.
This is a really interesting story. I knew about golden earring from the song twilight zone, but I didn’t realize that they were the same group that did radar love. In fact, I really didn’t know much about that song at all so I was glad to hear about the song and the story behind it. Another good episode.
The long gone but never forgotten KLOL Radio in Houston played Radar Love seemingly every day in the 70's and it never got old. It just got cranked up! I got to see Golden Earring open for Rush in the early 80's and they were awesome. Hell of a show! Seriously underrated.
On their album entitled Switch, there is a song called Cesoir. It’s about the assassination of a rock star that has a song criticizing the government. This song, in my humble opinion, is even better than Radar Love. The string instruments in the background and the soaring lead guitar are absolutely genius.
Radar Love has to be on many lists of the most iconic rock songs ever! On many driving playlists. But never paid too much attention to the lyrics back in the day
Yeah, here are four songs that *cause* me to speed: Golden Earring: "Radar Love" Motorhead: "Ace of Spades" ZZ Top: "La Grange" Deep Purple: "Highway Star"
Great band. I was fortunate enough to cover both Radar Love and Twilight Zone in a couple of cover bands. They were a blast to perform, and the crowd always joined in.
Nice to see you pay tribute to one of the greatest bands ever. I've been a rabid fan of G.E. ever since 1974. I was stunned when it was announced the end of the band over George Kooymans' illness. Did you know that in the mid-70s Pete Townshend approach Cesar Zuiderwijk (pronounced Ziderwik, I believe) to replace Keith Moon? That's how good these guys were. The classic lineup was actually solidified when Zuiderwijk joined in 1970. The cover photo of Moontan depicts the Vanilla Queen, a cut from the album and one of their most famous songs. Thanks for doing this!
@@Polyphemus47 Ya, they changed their name a few times. The Golden Earrings became Golden Earrings, became The Golden Earring, finally became Golden Earring (1970).
This is another song that I've covered on my TH-cam channel. I've actually done covers for this and Twilight Zone. I always wondered why there was 10 years between their only 2 hits in the US. I didn't know much about them and had no idea they were around so long. They were kind of an anomaly. Thank you for educating me!
Great video Adam! Wow, whole lot of things I didn't know about this song! Yes I thought the one lyric was "nude sunrise", then I also thought he said "Brandon Lee coming on strong" instead of Brenda Lee. Thought maybe they knew Bruce Lee and maybe mentioning his son in a sort of tribute. Also in the 40 years of listening to this song, I never paid enough attention to realize it was about a guy who crashed and died on the way to see his lover. It's really a sad song although it doesn't really sound like it.
I first heard of Golden EAring watching MTV and watching their video for Twilight zone, which had an espionage them. I had never even heard of RAdar love until much, much later. I don't think I first heard it until I was close to 40.
I first heard Radar Love from White Lion and I loved it. It wasn't until years later that I heard it was from Golden Earring. When I first heard it I was blown away.
I saw Golden Earring with the Tubes in 1976 in Detroit at Masonic Hall. What a concert. They did the whole Moontan album, which is terrific. The Tubes did The Young and the Rich and their 1st album, including White Punks on Dope. It was awesome.
I remember when I first heard Twilight Zone and found out it was the same band that did Radar Love. I was confused since Radar Love was about 10 years old at the time. lol
14 years old then, went to the local pool hall with my dad every Wednesday. Radar love played on that juke box more than any other record! You could see the 45s in the jukebox when they played. Radar love was so worn at one point it had turned grayish in appearance. Didn’t discover the long version until I was in a record store and heard the Moontan lp. I bought that lp that day , cost me $6.00! Still play that lp from time to time.
Golden Earring tried to breakthrough as the Dutch Beatles, but arrived on the scene a little too late. I did like Daddy Buy Me a Girl. Vanilla Queen was a mid-seventies FM classic but was later forgotten.
That one too and also Driver's Seat. But Radar Love is the daddy of them all. The epic intro followed by the pounding bass and drums and 'I've been driving all night my hands wet on the wheel' is what made more guys feel instantly cool and press harder on the gas pedal than any other song in history. Simply the best driving song of all time. Period.
There are a few classic tunes that are instant "crank it up" classics when I am driving. Radar Love is on that list! Gotta be in the car alone... my wife and kids just don't understand!!
Love this song. When I got my 1st cassette radio it was one of the 1st songs I recorded off the radio so I could listen at will. This is the 1st song I ever played in front of an audience. The bassline matched my heartbeat.
"And it's a half past four and I'm shiftin' gear" I took that as being 4 AM, the middle of the night. So the next thing would be dawn, everyone waking up. Because of that, I always thought the line was "Reveille, coming on strong"
I heard "Brenda Lee's comin' on strong", but TIL that "Coming On Strong" was actually a Brenda Lee song title. I always thought it was just a poetic way of telling us that the protagonist was really feeling the Brenda Lee song, whatever song it was in particular. 🤔🤷 Now the line seems a bit less cool, to me. 😂 Oh well.
@@chrisbenson6683 For a while I was hearing, "Bramalea's comin' on strong." Bramalea is a suburb of Brampton, just west of Toronto. It made zero sense that it would be in a song, but it was stuck in my head until I realized (well before this, mind) that it was Brenda Lee they were singing about. And shortly after, like you, realized "Comin' On Strong" was a song.
I misheard it as all kind of nonsense back in the day: "Ramblin' coming on strong," "Mandolin coming on strong," etc. We used to cruise the back roads and smoke out a lot then, lol. But I loved that song enough to play it on repeat and figure out what he was really saying!
Another good one, Adam. It made me think of a song that came on the radio when I was very young. I remember how my mom loved the song...and it brings tears to my eyes when I hear it now. My mom passed away 9 years ago, and I miss her terribly! The song was "Honey I miss you" by Bobby Goldsboro.
@@mbgrafix You're welcome. My mother passed away 12 years ago and I miss her terribly too (and my father who passed away 21 years ago). I've dealt with music all my life and have encountered many cover versions of "Honey"; the last one I heard was by the Ray Conniff Singers.
Oddly enough, I had never heard of "Radar Love" until White Lion covered it for their 1989 album, "Big Game". I knew about the band Golden Earring and I knew "Twilight Zone", but I never really took much notice of anything else from them until White Lion's cover, which I felt was also pretty good. It was at that point I started to look up more Golden Earring songs, and grew a new appreciation for them.
Golden earring, wow what an act and to last as long as they did what a feat i was for certain you were covering twilight zone today but i do love radar love too one of those bands who would be reborn thanks to mtv like the stones did with start me up, i got the reissued cd/dvd set of the something heavy's going down concert which includes a stellar radar love solo, Twilight Zone, N.E.W.S and much more
Radar Love was charting when I was a newly-licensed driver. I drove a beat up Chrysler New Yorker with a huge motor, that thing would GO. I'm very fortunate that I wasn't ticketed...or killed! It's a singularly great song and yeah - it'll give you a lead foot. I only knew one person who didn't like Radar Love. He said "radar" reminded him of cops. He was an idiot. There was silence for almost 10 years, I wish I'd known Golden Earring was active all that time and kicking ass all over the Netherlands. I honestly thought they were a one hit wonder. And then - Twilight Zone. Perfection!
I'm glad that you mention that White Lion did a great cover version of this song. I'm a person that usually dislikes it when bands do covers on their album and really hate it when bands do covers live. There are of course many fine examples of where covers are almost as good or occasionally better than the original artist, but quite rare. (IMO) I believe that Danish born Mike Tramp may have convinced the band to record "Radar Love", which did well on MTV but never got the recognition I believe it deserved. The decision to record it was also likely because of pressure from the record company to finish the album "Big Game" in which Tramp stated that they only had two weeks to write the material.
I had heard Radar Love growing up, and i liked it, but i didnt pay much attention to the details. I loved Twilight Zone, and when i heard Golden Earring had done Radar Love, I thought it was a different Golden Earring! I was young and stoopid.
I saw Golden Earring playing with Soft White Underbelly(Blue Oyster Cult),They opened for BOC,It was a semi secret concert at The Palace in Old Pasadena.They were so Bad Ass Good,Everyone went crazy for the encore Radar Love.BOC was partially late to arrive,some members were present,others had not shown up.Golden Earring did one last song,a bluesy Psychedelic song called The Vanilla Queen,w/special effects,I didn't know the song,most probably didn't,but it was crazy Good & Lasted about 20 minutes.They left the stage,the roadies hurried to clear their equipment,& brought on BOC's stuff,They opened with Godzilla & then a special announcement,Golden Earring joined BOC for Don't fear the Reaper!The place went crazy! Unforgettable!
My dad introduced me to Golden Earring, Led Zep, the Beatles. 16 and we're twking the ferry from our house to the mainland to go to school, he to principal and me to be a junior. We listened to Classic Rock on Seattle's KPLZ
KPLZ 101.5 fm., KZOK & KISW. Way back in the 70s & early 80s it was KTAC. I miss those car radio days when we had to wait for our favorite songs, when we heard b-sides & DJs personal pics we never would've otherwise known had existed. And all those local Northwest bands🥰
Poll: What is your pick for the GREATEST CRUISING or DRIVING Song?
LA Woman - The Doors
Fun Fun Fun
Tush
In addition to "Radar Love", I'll nominate ...
"I Can't Drive 55" - Sammy Hagar.
"Born to Run" - Bruce Springsteen.
@@ProfessorofRock I will say this song, and Running on Empty by Jackson Browne.
Radar Love And Twilight Zone Are 2 Incredible Classics
Twilight Zone for sure. When I first heard it as a preteen I thought it was a brand new New Wave Rock act. Took me a few years to realize they where a classic Classic Rock band. The video along with the fresh sound (at that time) fooled me I guess.
@@TheChristafershawn They were definitely legit rockers disguised as an 80s pop band. I was in high school when Twilight Zone came out. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I heard Golden Earring was back! I had been suffocating from sappy synth pop and pretentious new wave, mourning the loss of big, loud rock. It wasn't exactly a hard rocker, but it was intense, and it was Golden Earring, after all those years. It came outta nowhere! (In the US anyway. Just another masterpiece among many in the Netherlands. What a great music scene they've had!)
Twilight Zone is one of my all time favorite songs.
It's a jam.
Twilight Zone!!! Yeah Almost 4got it!!
They had better rock tunes that never got air play. This is true with a lot of albums by bands. I value music by how it sounds to my ears, not because some top 10 list tells me what's best and where they rank.
Back in 1978, I was listening to this song on the Panasonic 8-track in my 1968 Mustang, cruising down the road and got stopped for speeding. The trooper asked if I knew how fast I was going, I answered not really, I was listening to Radar Love and lost track of speed. He said, well I've done that too, and since you were only going 80, I'm just giving you a warning this time. Golden Earring saved me a few bucks.
'68 Mustang?? Nice. I had a '69 Mach I 390 engine 4 carb wide tires, red, in my teens/early 20's. Classic Mustangs are the best!!
Only going 80??? Yeah, things were different. I suppose cops are only human. They have feelings and sentiments. He probably wished he had your car! Cool story!
@@beenaplumber8379 The trooper and I were basically the only cars on the road at the time, and I immediately pulled over and didn't give him any attitude. That probably helped too.
Had a 68 Mustang...came stock with a 4 bbl 302...loved that car.
@@KLG-sx3zt For me it was a '66 GTO with the 389 Tri-Power. Midnight blue with a white convertible top.
As a loyal Dutchman, I'd love for you to do an in depth look at Hocus Pocus by the criminally underrated Dutch group Focus.
Will do. Need to add that one for sure!
@@ProfessorofRock You're the best! I always listen to your videos right before my students come into my classroom. It gives me a charge of energy that lasts throughout the morning. Please don't stop any time soon because I *LOVE* learning new things every day!!
I didn’t know they were Dutch. I always thought they were British.
Electronic supersonic
*Yes, Focus was AMAZING!* 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
Well dude you did it I shed a tear. I lost my best friend last month. We went back 54 years and in 1974 we were in 9th grade. This song was often played over the last 15 years as we played a round of golf ⛳. I really enjoy your channel you take me back to when I was a boy, a teenager, and a young man. ✌🏽
My condolences, so very sorry for your loss.
Now: 70 years young~~~ Professor of Rock; This time you got me~~~Reminiscing back to 1973-74 summertime. 1972 Nova Rally Sport with G50x14s on the back (Big Fat Tires) 350 engine (8 Cylinders) and Factory AM/FM - 8 Track Tape Player in the dash. Cruising along the Lake, going to Sunset Beach and the Old Iron Bridge, checking out the scene with my buddies. Stereo turned up loud, playing a custom recorded tape (Stereo system with an 8 Track Recorder Deck) with some of the songs recorded off the radio (Thanks WDVE) including ***Highway Star - Deep Purple*** In The Summertime - Mungo Jerry***Hitchin' A Ride - Vanity Fare***Fun Fun Fun - The Beach Boys***Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Jan and Dean***Little GTO - Ronnie and The Daytons***Little Deuce Coupe - Beach Boys***I Fought The Law - Bobby Fuller Four***Judy In Disguise With Glasses - John Fred & His Playboys Band*** and more. 80 minutes of going anywhere songs.
This is such a great channel. It's because of these type of high quality shows on TH-cam that I don't watch mainstream TV anymore
Very cool! Thanks Gordon!
@@ProfessorofRock No, thank you sir!! Love your show
Radar Love is def on the staylist! I commute 150 miles each way to my job and will never listen to this song the same way again… another great lesson. 👍🏼👍🏼
Where do you drive to and from? That's a drive!
@@ProfessorofRock from Santa Cruz to Fresno. (California)
Geez Louise, that's one hell of a commute
Maybe don't listen to I can't drive 55 by Sammy Hagar. 😂
Or maybe you SHOULD listen to it.
It'll get you to and for quicker.
Every day?!
I am 100 percent guilty of driving too fast when this song is playing.
Ha ha!
@@ProfessorofRock Dangerous driving is not funny.
@@bobdavis4848 Do you need help with that stick?
BTW, Bob, I now live in Germany and have actually listened to the song while doing 160mph+ on the Autobahn 😛
I hadn't heard the band the POR was talking about before I read your comment. I thought you were talking about the song "I Can't Drive 55!" 😂
I don’t blame you!
I was about 7th grade when this song came out. My buddy asked me what my favorite song was. I said "King of Nothing" by Seals and Croft. He blasted me saying that Seals and Croft was not real Rock n' Roll. He played Radar Love for me - and I got it. Now that's Rock n' Roll. Great song. Great memories.
This song is my and my wife's love song. We travel and when we're apart we send this to each other. Thanks for bringing this up. Love your channel!
I’ll never forget the night on my California FM’er that had a signal that came in like a ton of bricks at VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE! I got a call from an airman who had just bought a set of new speakers THAT DAY, and he asked if I’d play Radar Love so he could crank it up and test out those new speakers. I told him I’d be glad to, and had the song on the air within five minutes! He called me back when it was over and thanked me - and then he told me he was working… IN THE RADAR STATION AT THE BASE!
I was at White Sands Missile Range when I heard this playing !
@@natemcdonald8853 Very cool!
lol, i was doing 95 in 65 zone with a chevette..the cop was laffin so hard cuz window was down,, no, not a warning, blame it on radar love
Hey Adam! I wanted to thank you for not only being an amazing Professor of rock, but also for including where hits landed on the charts in the rest of the world! Most Americans are so focused on themselves, that they don't even pretend the rest of us exist. I know the bands appreciate their fans all over the world, and I know you love the history down to the atomic level!! I really love your channel. Take care man.
I'm sure there is a Philistine out there somewhere but how can anyone not love this song?
No joke! So cool!
I'm one of the Philistines. The classic rock station in Chicago played this song way too much (and anything by Skynyrd) to the point where I just can't stand it anymore.
@@Fregulus5 I get it. Went on a 15 hour drive and every cassette I had with me was Foreigner, when i couldn't take it anymore went to radio and they were playing Foreigner. Took years before I could listen to them again but I have fully recovered.
I'm another Philistine. Just never got hooked into this one. It was ok the first couple times I heard it, but that was enough for me. I find it tedious. 🤷
Great stories though. They certainly earned their rock laurels. 🫡
Saw Golden Earring in Germany in 86 only knowing of “radar love”. The show they put on that night was truly special. And what a deep catalogue!! Love em!!!
❤🎉
Absolutely love Radar Love!
The song just keeps speeding up until almost the end. And yes, it probably has led to more speeding tickets than one can count.
Thanks Professor.
Great shirt.
Hey Roger!
This song is like a simulation.
That was a great episode Professor! Such an awesome song! See you tomorrow!🤘🔥
Professor, I would like to thank you for solving a major ear worm I had for years I never had a chance to resolve due to misremembered lyrics. The moment you played The Twilight Zone at 13:49, I screamed, THAT IS IT. This unresolved issue plagued me for over a year as no one recognized the tune and me listening to Greatest Hits of (Insert all male band here) over and over again. I watched your videos with my fingers crossed hoping to get it from you and you came in. THANK YOU!!! You have no idea what a relief this is for me!
"There is this great song from my youth I have been trying to find now for years ... but I just can't remember the lyrics to google them. They are like almost within reach but I just can't seem to actually hear them clearly in my mind. Such a bummer man. I guess this is just one of those songs that got lost in the twilight zone for me". ... "Oh wait!"
Thank you so much for doing this song Professor , YOU ROCK buddy!!! 👌👍😊
Thank you!
In 1976 I got my first car a 69 javelin, installed an eight track immediately and started my collection. This gem was certainly among them and I drove countless miles with Radar Love cranked. My son once said to me " thank you for the gift of the love of music." As I thank my dad for his shared love. It's great how a song can evoke so many warm memories in us. Thanks Professor keep'em comin' . :)
I had the plum Javelin. Miss that car
OMG!!! AMC cars were the best!!! My first car was an AMC, a 71 Hornet (wagon, grasshopper green), and if I had my wish, I'd still be driving an AMC, probably a 2024 Gremlin! It was so easy to work on that engine. There was so much room under the hood I could curl up and sleep on either side of the 258 straight six. I LOVED my AMC!!!
We had Chevy guys, Mopar heads, and Ford Fanatics but driving anything AMC was like declaring to the world that you had no pen!s! The AMX got grudging respect on the street but just barely.
@@Frankie5Angels150 I'm a Dodge guy these days and we would have wiped the streets back in the day with chumps like you.
@@Frankie5Angels150 That's just weird, especially given the success of the Javelin in stock car racing around the world. (US and Australia anyway.) When they put a V8 in the Gremlin... legendary! It was already a screamer in the smallest engine - a straight-six 238, in a 2-seat compact car! I saw a modded V8 Gremlin with a scoop on the hood in a fan race after the main event at the local track in 2001, and the Gremlin beat a Corvette, owned, driven, and customized for racing (still street-legal) by a guy who owned a shop that did custom performance mods for Corvettes.
When I was a teenager I thought Chevy, Mopar, and Ford were for people who didn't know any better! 😛
I grew up in the middle of nowhere and we would go own long drives so that we could blast our music without scaring the townsfolk. One time, we were cruising down the road at twilight and this song came on. We were screaming the lyrics as we drove through the Mississippi night. What a great memory.
I say go ahead and scare the townfolk. 😆
Thanks for sharing!
I too grew up in a rural area. Those drives with music playing were and are magical. I really miss living in the country. Glad to know someone else also enjoyed that wonderful feeling.
Did someone hear you?
Most underrated band in rock history. Period. 30+ albums. 1 of a very few bands that could "change with the times" and do it well. Started around the same time as the beatles. Thx for showing them a lil well deserved credit👍
You spelled "Blue Oyster Cult" incorrectly.
Thanks for sharing. I agree.
@@mournblade1066 You spelled "Blue Öyster Cult" incorrectly.
When the Bullet hit the Bone in the 90's made them one of the only bands to have hits in 3 decades. One of the most underrated bands of the Rock era.
@@nedhorner Ah, I see what you did there!
I remember this song from when it was on the radio as a kid. All this time, my interpretation of the ending was, after all the driving, the guy arrives to find that his girl left him.. I never knew until this video that the guy died in a crash and never made it!
Well, you learn something new every day. Radar Love is still one of the coolest songs of the era. A song that still stands the test of time and always will.
I always learn something on this channel!
Was to see Golden Earring at the COW Palace as opening band. Bill Graham came out and said they were not able to make it but he had two other bands to replace them. First was B-52s and they lasted 1/2 a song. Bill Graham came out and said, hold on you'll be amazed by the next band. The band came out, played their first song, the crowd was in awe and quiet until the end of that 1st song - then, they erupted like nothing I'd ever heard. That was The Runaways.
You were a witness to rock history! Way cool!
Wow! Very cool!
@@Code.Name.V No kidding.
@@ProfessorofRock I don't even remember who the headliner for that show was. It doesn't matter at this point.
Truly an amazing moment in music history. I envy you.
Such a classic tune especially the full length version
Love it!
@@ProfessorofRocktwo intros, two bridges, extended solos… now performers can’t even do the most basic song structure
Love the story of how this song as written, great show as always, thanks so much Adam.
THanks Carla!
Summer of my 8th grade, me and my buddies attending a school dance at a different school, nervous and trying to be cool calling the whole thing lame until the band covered this song. We all decided to stay and even got up the nerve to ask a few girls to dance. Ya it was a great time, thanks Golden Earring!
I hope you can do Twilight Zone which is my 80s Golden Earring moment. The bass riff is a killer classic.
Such a great song.
Can’t not speed up when this song comes on even today
It makes your foot heavy!
You can’t help but tap your foot.
@@ProfessorofRock "There's a voice in my head that drives my heel."
I started my drivers education course in the summer of 1975 and it was my first time where I would be behind the wheel. I got in the drivers seat, put on my seat belt, adjusted the mirrors, and just as I was about to drop it into gear, Radar Love comes on over the radio. I looked over at my instructor and in a very stern way, he shook his head as in “don’t even think about it”. Had we not been in a 1976 AMC Pacer, I might’ve ignored him lol.
Nowdays, my favorite driving song at night when I’m alone is “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” from traffic. It’s a definite mood!
I remember hearing this in Stereo in my 68 SS 396 CAMARO in 1981 and the guitar leads switching about in the L/R channels were insane 😮
Very cool!
I have heard Radar Love on the radio many times over the years by
Golden Earring and also Twilight Zone several years later but they
had a lot of other good songs as well but these are the two well
known hit songs they play regularly thanks for the memories
and have a great Wednesday Professor.🎶🎶📻📻🎶🎶
The album Moontan is really amazinig if you're into 70s arena rock. It's artistic, almost progressive, and massive! My friend's wife is named Candy (Candace), so of course I introduced him to the track Candy's Going Bad. In hindsight, he should have punched me. Hard. The lyrics are nasty!!! I was such a naughty boy...
And it's MoonTan, like a sun tan (also spelled suntan - give them a break - English isn't their native tongue). Like a sun tan, only it's the moon. I don't know why Adam says it with the Dutch accent. 😛 And hellz yeah, Twilight Zone! A blessed relief at a time when hard rock was in its death throes.
With your first words I knew you were doing this. I love Golden Earring. I never imagined they only had 1 #1 hit in the US. This is so utterly awesome. I didn't realize they were not American. Their music videos for "N.E.W.S." album are so much fun. Thank you for doing this. "When the Lady Smiles" is my fav, but this is classic!
I have my own Radar Love story with my wife. Too long to go into here, but it had a happy ending. I loved the song in 1974 and still love it.
Greetings Professor and community Buckling up for this episode
This is such a great song!!! I've always loved to listen to it loud on the radio in the car. Great driving song. Love that bass guitar. As far as I know I always loved the song but the time that I 100% remember loving it was ... Chicago auto show, don't remember the year. Pontiac was still a name in cars. They had a black Firebird Trans AM they had a back drop for the car that made it look like it was on the road and they had this stuff all over the car that made it look like it was in the rain and rain drops were all over the car and Radar Live was blasting behind it. I just remember thinking awesome song and for an awesome car. I kept going back to that car and kept listening to Radar Love pretending that the car was going fast through the rain with beads of rain perfectly dancing on the car to the beat of the song!!!
1st band I ever saw live! Opened for 38 Special in Shreveport La. Mar 24 1984. Great live show!
Awesome!
Wow, what a show! I saw 38 Special in 95(? some time 94-96) in LaCrosse, WI, and I had somehow worked my way into the audio engineer's booth for their entire set after chatting with him before the show, and what an amazing show it was! And pairing them with Golden Earring??? That's a brilliant bill with two very complimentary acts. Sorry, I love 38 Special, but Golden Earring was the opening act for them when Twilight Zone was current? That's just bizarre. So Caught Up in You was 38 Special's hit at the time, if I remember right, and it was basically Hold On Loosely reworked - their only other real hit (and it was a good one!). Two hits - one incredible, one a remake of the incredible one. Golden Earring also had two big hits (in the US), RADAR Effing LOVE, and Twilight Zone! Not at all like each other (aside from the bass-oriented jam sections). 38 Special had plenty of depth and variety, but how the hell did they become the headline act with Golden Earring on the ticket??? Nothing but love for both bands, and I truly mean that, they're peers in every way, I just wish I'd seen that show!
Went to Deadwood, SD last weekend & hubs & I totally rocked out to "Radar Love" on cruise control at 80 MPH radio cranked! Sweet Summer memory! 🤠
I remember Twilight Zone getting a lot of plays on video shows
In 82.... Loved the edge to it!
For sure! Thanks Flave!
Awesome to see KISS' Destroyer album behind you and yesterday's Synchronicity
My three favorite driving songs: Radar Love, Rebel Yell, and Beds are Burning.
Awesome trio!
Those three songs are all 🔥
yeh beds awesome song forgotten years another on last week
All good choices. Also, Souped up Ford by Rory Gallagher and Highway star by Deep Purple.
Radar Love, Highway Star and Detroit Rock City are mine.
Oh yeah these guys are great, I saw them live back in the early 80's. It does seem like they have to put out a total smash to chart in America though. Radar Love and Bullet hits the Bone are bonafide classics here. Other than those two I can't remember hearing their music on American radio. This a well deserved deep dive 🫡
Thanks!
Did they come to America?
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Yes, Indianapolis, Indiana. They opened for someone but I can't remember who that was. I was a big fan of Twilight Zone ( Bullet hits the bone. ) I had bought my first Walkman at 14 and that song just sounded great coming through those headphones 🎧
I have to admit that I did not know Twilight Zone and Radar Love were from the same band. Which is one reason I watch your content. Learn all about the songs that I did not know I adored and miss and am now purchasing.
Radar Love was huge for me. It peaked during my late teens, just when i was able to enjoy the heck out of it. To this day, when it comes on, i tell my wife, "no talking until the song ends" !! She smiles because she knows I'm serious.
Your Dad was awesome, he planted a seed of a good career for you. I had people in my life like that, I owe them everything.
"Born to be Wild" always causes me to speed in my car. Hahaha. If it comes on while I'm driving, I have to consciously make myself slow down. 😊
BTW, I never get tired of hearing Radar Love. Oh Brenda Lee! I always wondered what he said right there. 😊💜👍😎
Professor
Do you have any books from a place called Record Research? I have many of them. Awesome reference books about the Billboard Charts.
BTW. I don’t work for them
Radar Love is an awesome song! Too bad Golden Earring is very underrated.
Thanks Adam!
For sure. Thanks Jim!
Saw them open for “the Who” in Frankfort, Germany in 1972. I had never heard of them before and I don’t remember a single song they played, but they had so much energy that they just blew everyone away. We were still catching our breath when “the Who” took the stage. It was like being hit by a Mack truck. We were all stunned. I’ll never forget that performance.
Wild story on this all time classic, funny how so many songs are just jam sessions with a groove then an artist starts laying down lyrics and the band just improvises as they lay it down having no idea their work will be studied and copied by so many other bands and not even realizing they are creating a staple of rock. Fantastic episode professor as always, you never let me down with your research.
Especially when these lyrics are so tragic.
Wow. This is one of my favorite songs ever. And somehow, I never caught on that in the end the driver dies.
Mind. Blown.
Still one of my favorite songs ever.
Thanks for watching!
The "Radar Love" song's driver is not proven to have crashed or died. The lyrics make no mention of a crash. POR likes what he considers a good story.
Same here. I never even thought of that.
@@bobdavis4848please stop with the "proof", "evidence", and "prove it" angle already dude.
That mierda is so stale
@@jeffalbillar7625 I'm glad to add that it was just brought to my attention that cowriter Barry Hay said in an interview that the character dies. But that writer quote is what proves it, not the song itself, where the lyrics are ambiguous about end fate of the driver. What you call a swear word in Spanish, proof, is what court convictions hang on. I'm glad I don't just trust everything I see and hear without evaluation.
Greatest cruising song would be "Radar Love," of course, but "Twilight Zone" holds a special place in my heart, because my wife and I used it for our first dance at the reception.
I'm a big watcher of the channel, but I have never commented I believe. Adam, I just wanna say thank you for having a channel I can keep coming back to for compelling, intriguing, confusing, hilarious, and exciting stories behind music's greatest songs. I am 24 and love a whole bunch of music before my birth year, 2000, and these stories just emphasize my love for music. Dealing with Autism, Type 2 Bipolar, and Combined Type ADHD is a rather challenging daily thing, but music... It just has something to it. Makes you wanna keep going, keep moving, keep dancing, and keep finding new songs, even if they aren't newly released. Keep the videos coming and I will keep watching!! ^^
Welcome to the chat, Marshall.
Love your comment.. thanks for sharing.. Keep doing it. I love to get your take!
@@FredGroenke55 Thank you for welcoming me!! ^^
@@ProfessorofRock Aww thanks Adam, it means a lot. I'll be commenting more in the future!! ^^
I grew up hearing Radar Love on rock and oldies radio stations and fell in love with the song. It's a fave to belt out at karaoke nights. Haha
I knew it was Golden Earring when I saw the title.
Very cool!
They have so many great songs no one knows about - Vanilla Queen, Candy’s Going Bad, She Flies on Strange Wings, Mad Love’s Comin’, etc.
I agree. I mean they had 47 hits in their home country... So many hits!
@@ProfessorofRock Their best songs are 7+ minutes in length - maybe why they didn’t get as much radio airplay in the U.S.
Wow! I need to listen to more of them.
One of the best rock bands that ever was. They weren't bland enough to make it big in the US
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 I’ve been exploring since the Professor put out this video. Seven Tears is a terrific album.
Awesome Song!! Never new unit recent how old it was. Don't think I heard it until 1977!! Doesn't sound that old! Perhaps a couple years ahead of it's time ⁉️ OHHHH That Brenda Lee!!?? That's Awesome also. Thought it was his girlfriend in the passenger seat? Thanks again Adam! Peace 🕊️☮️♾️😎
Being from New Jersey and having gone to Great Adventure Amusement Park a lot in my life...I will forever equate this group to the deadly fire at their "haunted castle" which killed eight kids. Golden Earring was the band that nite and whilst it burned, they played...probably unaware of the magnitude of the disaster. So, each time I hear it, that's what I think of. Great song; horrible memories.
That is what makes culture, pretty and horrible memories, knowing at the end, not turning around to the synthetic rainbow showdown. .
This is a really interesting story. I knew about golden earring from the song twilight zone, but I didn’t realize that they were the same group that did radar love. In fact, I really didn’t know much about that song at all so I was glad to hear about the song and the story behind it. Another good episode.
The long gone but never forgotten KLOL Radio in Houston played Radar Love seemingly every day in the 70's and it never got old. It just got cranked up! I got to see Golden Earring open for Rush in the early 80's and they were awesome. Hell of a show! Seriously underrated.
Yes! 101 KLOL.
That drum solo is the part that I always wait for. And it's the reason that I can never turn it off.
The extended version is a great deep dive.
One pf my favorite 70s hard rock classics. I may be old but I was blessed to grow up some AMAZING music
On their album entitled Switch, there is a song called Cesoir. It’s about the assassination of a rock star that has a song criticizing the government. This song, in my humble opinion, is even better than Radar Love. The string instruments in the background and the soaring lead guitar are absolutely genius.
I’ve been discovering Golden Earring since this video came out. That entire Switch album is fantastic!
Radar Love has to be on many lists of the most iconic rock songs ever! On many driving playlists. But never paid too much attention to the lyrics back in the day
Hell yes! One of my favourite travelling songs when driving through semi desert in Australia, 1000 kilometres to visit my Mum.
@@sandy-quimsrus Nice! It will definitely give you energy
Love the guitar sound!
@@sandy-quimsrus Very cool!
@@ProfessorofRock Really is unique
This song sounds as great today as it did when it was released 🎉🎉❤
Fun video Taylor, love seeing all your characters
Yeah, here are four songs that *cause* me to speed:
Golden Earring: "Radar Love"
Motorhead: "Ace of Spades"
ZZ Top: "La Grange"
Deep Purple: "Highway Star"
Does the volume dial go up in correlation with your speed?
@@Code.Name.V No, oddly enough.
Tom Petty running down a dream!
Running on Empty, Jackson Browne for me.
For whatever reason, The Cult; She Sells Sanctuary
What a wonderful tribute to your dad. Obviously a good man.
I don't think I've ever heard this song. Thank you for leading me to it.
Enjoy!
@@ProfessorofRock Will do.
Great band. I was fortunate enough to cover both Radar Love and Twilight Zone in a couple of cover bands. They were a blast to perform, and the crowd always joined in.
Good morning, professor!
Nice to see you pay tribute to one of the greatest bands ever. I've been a rabid fan of G.E. ever since 1974. I was stunned when it was announced the end of the band over George Kooymans' illness. Did you know that in the mid-70s Pete Townshend approach Cesar Zuiderwijk (pronounced Ziderwik, I believe) to replace Keith Moon? That's how good these guys were. The classic lineup was actually solidified when Zuiderwijk joined in 1970. The cover photo of Moontan depicts the Vanilla Queen, a cut from the album and one of their most famous songs. Thanks for doing this!
For sure!
When I bought my first LP by them, it was by "The Golden Earring".
@@Polyphemus47 Ya, they changed their name a few times. The Golden Earrings became Golden Earrings, became The Golden Earring, finally became Golden Earring (1970).
This is another song that I've covered on my TH-cam channel. I've actually done covers for this and Twilight Zone. I always wondered why there was 10 years between their only 2 hits in the US. I didn't know much about them and had no idea they were around so long. They were kind of an anomaly. Thank you for educating me!
Very cool. I'll have to check it out!
@@ProfessorofRock That would be a great honor!
I will check your channel out!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Thank you! I would appreciate that very much!
Great video Adam! Wow, whole lot of things I didn't know about this song! Yes I thought the one lyric was "nude sunrise", then I also thought he said "Brandon Lee coming on strong" instead of Brenda Lee. Thought maybe they knew Bruce Lee and maybe mentioning his son in a sort of tribute. Also in the 40 years of listening to this song, I never paid enough attention to realize it was about a guy who crashed and died on the way to see his lover. It's really a sad song although it doesn't really sound like it.
I first heard of Golden EAring watching MTV and watching their video for Twilight zone, which had an espionage them. I had never even heard of RAdar love until much, much later. I don't think I first heard it until I was close to 40.
Thanks for sharing Joseph!
@@ProfessorofRock welcome
Writing lyrics, composing songs is such a magical experience. "Radar Love" by Golden Earing is on of my favs. Thanks for sharing, Prof. ;o)
I first heard Radar Love from White Lion and I loved it. It wasn't until years later that I heard it was from Golden Earring. When I first heard it I was blown away.
I saw Golden Earring with the Tubes in 1976 in Detroit at Masonic Hall. What a concert. They did the whole Moontan album, which is terrific. The Tubes did The Young and the Rich and their 1st album, including White Punks on Dope. It was awesome.
I remember when I first heard Twilight Zone and found out it was the same band that did Radar Love. I was confused since Radar Love was about 10 years old at the time. lol
Cool!
14 years old then, went to the local pool hall with my dad every Wednesday. Radar love played on that juke box more than any other record! You could see the 45s in the jukebox when they played. Radar love was so worn at one point it had turned grayish in appearance. Didn’t discover the long version until I was in a record store and heard the Moontan lp. I bought that lp that day , cost me $6.00! Still play that lp from time to time.
Golden Earring tried to breakthrough as the Dutch Beatles, but arrived on the scene a little too late. I did like Daddy Buy Me a Girl.
Vanilla Queen was a mid-seventies FM classic but was later forgotten.
Thanks for sharing!
Devastating news about Kooymans.
ALS is what killed my dad a few years ago. I wish and his family comfort.
The song that makes speed up is "Born To Be Wild" by Steppenwolf.
That one too and also Driver's Seat. But Radar Love is the daddy of them all. The epic intro followed by the pounding bass and drums and 'I've been driving all night my hands wet on the wheel' is what made more guys feel instantly cool and press harder on the gas pedal than any other song in history. Simply the best driving song of all time. Period.
There are a few classic tunes that are instant "crank it up" classics when I am driving. Radar Love is on that list! Gotta be in the car alone... my wife and kids just don't understand!!
😃 Professor Radar Love reached number 13 on Billboard but will be number 1 in our hearts. ❤
Amen!
Another well written and well presented episode. Thanks
Love this song. When I got my 1st cassette radio it was one of the 1st songs I recorded off the radio so I could listen at will. This is the 1st song I ever played in front of an audience. The bassline matched my heartbeat.
"And it's a half past four and I'm shiftin' gear" I took that as being 4 AM, the middle of the night. So the next thing would be dawn, everyone waking up.
Because of that, I always thought the line was "Reveille, coming on strong"
I heard "Brenda Lee's comin' on strong", but TIL that "Coming On Strong" was actually a Brenda Lee song title. I always thought it was just a poetic way of telling us that the protagonist was really feeling the Brenda Lee song, whatever song it was in particular. 🤔🤷
Now the line seems a bit less cool, to me. 😂 Oh well.
@@chrisbenson6683 For a while I was hearing, "Bramalea's comin' on strong."
Bramalea is a suburb of Brampton, just west of Toronto. It made zero sense that it would be in a song, but it was stuck in my head until I realized (well before this, mind) that it was Brenda Lee they were singing about. And shortly after, like you, realized "Comin' On Strong" was a song.
I misheard it as all kind of nonsense back in the day: "Ramblin' coming on strong," "Mandolin coming on strong," etc. We used to cruise the back roads and smoke out a lot then, lol. But I loved that song enough to play it on repeat and figure out what he was really saying!
Another good one, Adam. It made me think of a song that came on the radio when I was very young. I remember how my mom loved the song...and it brings tears to my eyes when I hear it now. My mom passed away 9 years ago, and I miss her terribly!
The song was "Honey I miss you" by Bobby Goldsboro.
Peace to you friend!
@@ProfessorofRock
To you too, friend.
I'm very sorry for your tragic loss. The Bobby Goldsboro song title was just "Honey," though you did accurately quote a lyric.
@@shiroibasketshoes
Thank you for correcting the title.
@@mbgrafix You're welcome. My mother passed away 12 years ago and I miss her terribly too (and my father who passed away 21 years ago). I've dealt with music all my life and have encountered many cover versions of "Honey"; the last one I heard was by the Ray Conniff Singers.
Oddly enough, I had never heard of "Radar Love" until White Lion covered it for their 1989 album, "Big Game". I knew about the band Golden Earring and I knew "Twilight Zone", but I never really took much notice of anything else from them until White Lion's cover, which I felt was also pretty good. It was at that point I started to look up more Golden Earring songs, and grew a new appreciation for them.
Good call. Thanks Bart.
I have to hear their cover.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 I liked it.
Golden earring, wow what an act and to last as long as they did what a feat
i was for certain you were covering twilight zone today but i do love radar love too
one of those bands who would be reborn thanks to mtv like the stones did with start me up, i got the reissued cd/dvd set of the something heavy's going down concert which includes a stellar radar love solo, Twilight Zone, N.E.W.S and much more
I alway play this song several times on long car trips. I didn’t realize that the driver died. Now I’ll be nervous while I’m driving.
No worries Fred!
Radar Love was charting when I was a newly-licensed driver. I drove a beat up Chrysler New Yorker with a huge motor, that thing would GO. I'm very fortunate that I wasn't ticketed...or killed! It's a singularly great song and yeah - it'll give you a lead foot.
I only knew one person who didn't like Radar Love. He said "radar" reminded him of cops. He was an idiot.
There was silence for almost 10 years, I wish I'd known Golden Earring was active all that time and kicking ass all over the Netherlands. I honestly thought they were a one hit wonder. And then - Twilight Zone. Perfection!
John Denver would’ve said “Far out! Radar Love is #1”.
Ha ha! Thanks Fred!
@@ProfessorofRock I loved John Denver. One of the truly nice guys.
I'm glad that you mention that White Lion did a great cover version of this song. I'm a person that usually dislikes it when bands do covers on their album and really hate it when bands do covers live. There are of course many fine examples of where covers are almost as good or occasionally better than the original artist, but quite rare. (IMO) I believe that Danish born Mike Tramp may have convinced the band to record "Radar Love", which did well on MTV but never got the recognition I believe it deserved. The decision to record it was also likely because of pressure from the record company to finish the album "Big Game" in which Tramp stated that they only had two weeks to write the material.
I had heard Radar Love growing up, and i liked it, but i didnt pay much attention to the details. I loved Twilight Zone, and when i heard Golden Earring had done Radar Love, I thought it was a different Golden Earring! I was young and stoopid.
Thanks for sharing!
There’s another Golden Earring?
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 No, but I thought there was when I was young and stoopid.
I saw Golden Earring playing with Soft White Underbelly(Blue Oyster Cult),They opened for BOC,It was a semi secret concert at The Palace in Old Pasadena.They were so Bad Ass Good,Everyone went crazy for the encore Radar Love.BOC was partially late to arrive,some members were present,others had not shown up.Golden Earring did one last song,a bluesy Psychedelic song called The Vanilla Queen,w/special effects,I didn't know the song,most probably didn't,but it was crazy Good & Lasted about 20 minutes.They left the stage,the roadies hurried to clear their equipment,& brought on BOC's stuff,They opened with Godzilla & then a special announcement,Golden Earring joined BOC for Don't fear the Reaper!The place went crazy! Unforgettable!
I misheard the lyrics to this song when i was a kid. I heard "Red Eye Love" so naturally as a kid i had to humorously change the eye color.
Ha ha! CooL!
Haha!
Red Eye Love NEEDS to be a song, haha.
I heard “Red Hot Love.”
My dad introduced me to Golden Earring, Led Zep, the Beatles. 16 and we're twking the ferry from our house to the mainland to go to school, he to principal and me to be a junior. We listened to Classic Rock on Seattle's KPLZ
KPLZ 101.5 fm., KZOK & KISW. Way back in the 70s & early 80s it was KTAC. I miss those car radio days when we had to wait for our favorite songs, when we heard b-sides & DJs personal pics we never would've otherwise known had existed. And all those local Northwest bands🥰