🎶 A Bond Formed in Silence, Not Headlines
In a stunning and deeply emotional moment during a special segment on The Ingraham Angle, Fox News host Laura Ingraham broke from her usual script to reveal a personal connection with the late George Kooymans, founding member of Golden Earring, who passed away this week.
The tribute wasn’t scheduled. The moment wasn’t rehearsed. It began when the producers played a short instrumental of “Radar Love” going into commercial. Laura closed her eyes and paused. And then she spoke.
“George Kooymans let me cry once. No cameras. No judgment. Just his voice, low and steady. That man saved me after my mom died.”
💬 An Unexpected Friend from a Foreign Stage
Ingraham recounted a 2007 charity event in Amsterdam where she and Kooymans were seated next to each other at a long banquet table. She confessed she barely knew his band at the time.
“He asked if I liked Bach. Not if I knew his songs. That’s how we began. He sent me a CD of cello suites two weeks later.”
Over the years, they stayed in touch — not often, but meaningfully. When Laura’s mother passed away in 2016, she received an email:
“I don’t know your politics. But I know loss. And silence can heal.”
💤 Late-Night Notes, Soft Encouragement
They began exchanging emails, mostly about music, insomnia, and memories. Kooymans, already battling ALS at the time, would write from his hospital bed:
“When I can’t sleep, I imagine my mother humming from the kitchen. You?”
Laura replied once:
“I imagine my mom fixing her lipstick in the rearview mirror. Always just before she said something loving.”
Kooymans replied:
“Then keep her voice loud in your house. I keep mine loud in mine.”
💐 A Final Note That Arrived Too Late
A day after George passed, Laura opened her inbox to find a scheduled email.
“I don’t want you to cry forever. So if you are, I’ll send you Bach one last time. Here he is. Loud and soft. Just like us.”
She ended her segment saying:
“He didn’t care about my ratings. Just my heart. And I miss him terribly.”
