Uploaded October 2008 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
I don't care what anyone says, not only is this Golden Earring track one of the greatest moments in rock history, it is also unbelievably difficult to cover on drums!
This was an absolutely virtuoso performance by Cesar Zuiderwijk: almost every single bar from start to finish is stuffed full of technical, fast, intricate, delicate swing-rock groove drumming. He goes from full-on-rock to beautiful jazz. He has panache, showmanship and skills aplenty and the best bit is, when you watch him play it, he is just cruising!! He is so fucking cool it is just incredible! What a drummer!!
I urge you to watch him playing this back in 1974 - have a look at some of my Favourites on here, and you will see him making this look easy. And watch for the jump he does to top it all off. I mean, man! the guy was just completely out there!
Anyway, what I am trying to tell you is that I have found this difficult. That is an understatement actually. I reckon this has been the toughest cover for me to do so far on YouTube. The Grace Jones track was hard; Genesis Down & Out was not a walk in the park, and The Police Murder By Numbers was less than easy. But this is something very special.
The opening stabs are hard to time right, and when that beautiful shuffle comes in well, where and how DOES it come in is the first problem! Then the bass drum starts up, except as usual I come in a bar too early. The take before I was a bar too late!
In the first verse, he moves the bass drum around the shuffle semi-randomly. Naturally. The chorus's require you to try and maintain the shuffle feel on your bass drum doubles, but if you are like me, they will slip into straight-ahead ones. Pants.
The second verse is a lot less hectic on bass drum, but the fill coming out into second chorus is awkward! Then we hit the instrumental. Fuck. You got to play fast bass doubles, maintaining the 6/8 shuffle feel, and play a shuffle on the ride. Except you have to gradually move to quarter notes on ride, with semi random 6/8 doubles. And your foot wants to move to straight-ahead doubles, especially when your ride goes to quarter notes. Oh, and dont forget to keep that hi-hat working. And the guitar solo is coming to another section, so now you got to start rolling with the bass drum (in a 6/8 feel, naturally) and hit the quarter notes on the bell of the ride. Ah, time to do a few fills, and then start the whole tom/snare interplay thing, but keep the bass going in 6/8 (though you'll probably be doing it in 4/4 like I keep doing), and you also need to start hitting some crashes, including double crashes whilst hitting the tom twice in 6/8.....aaaaaarrrggggghhhhhhhh!!
Just as you congratulate yourself on getting to the end of that section, its time for a drum solo. Doh! And not just any drum solo. You got to play it like Cesar. Except, what the hell IS he actually playing? I spent ages trying to get the same sound - that basic groove is not at all easy! Then the little paradiddle (I think) halfway through, with his left hand on floor tom and crossing up to the little tom with right hand. And of course the fast bit. Oh, and dont forget the hi hat all the way through, and also the bass drum....
And then you get out of that, and worse is to come. Got to go into the jazz section, preferably starting it in time. Play it delicately, (it don't sound very delicate on my vid does it?!)even though you have just been playing like a bastard for the past 4 minutes. Then find the original groove again...
IT IS JUST VIRTUOSO STUFF BY CESAR: AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR!!
Those of you who are fans of the White Lion version - please also realise that the drumming on the original is something special! White Lion do a great cover, but it is in a very different style, and the drummer is working a lot less hard than Cesar, believe me!
In the final chorus, I thought I would copy Cesar a bit by holding my right stick high in the air. Unfortunately I look like an idiot, whilst Cesar looks cool!
The outro is tricky, funnily enough! I decided NOT to emulate the athletic jump BTW: I would break my neck, I know I would.
The thing that is so special about the original drumming on this is that it manages to swing whilst at the same time it is out and out rock. That is a very special place. I can only think of Thin Lizzy and The Doors that can do this, though I guess Toto would also be included. It is a very rare gift.
Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did learning it.
BTW, I have not used tabs to learn this - I gather they are available. I cannot read music at all, and I learned this by ear, and by watching the band do it here on YouTube. So take it easy on me, ok!
Oh, and let's NOT get into a debate about whether White Lion is 'better' than the original. That is NOT what this vid is about!
I don't care what anyone says, not only is this Golden Earring track one of the greatest moments in rock history, it is also unbelievably difficult to cover on drums!
This was an absolutely virtuoso performance by Cesar Zuiderwijk: almost every single bar from start to finish is stuffed full of technical, fast, intricate, delicate swing-rock groove drumming. He goes from full-on-rock to beautiful jazz. He has panache, showmanship and skills aplenty and the best bit is, when you watch him play it, he is just cruising!! He is so fucking cool it is just incredible! What a drummer!!
I urge you to watch him playing this back in 1974 - have a look at some of my Favourites on here, and you will see him making this look easy. And watch for the jump he does to top it all off. I mean, man! the guy was just completely out there!
Anyway, what I am trying to tell you is that I have found this difficult. That is an understatement actually. I reckon this has been the toughest cover for me to do so far on YouTube. The Grace Jones track was hard; Genesis Down & Out was not a walk in the park, and The Police Murder By Numbers was less than easy. But this is something very special.
The opening stabs are hard to time right, and when that beautiful shuffle comes in well, where and how DOES it come in is the first problem! Then the bass drum starts up, except as usual I come in a bar too early. The take before I was a bar too late!
In the first verse, he moves the bass drum around the shuffle semi-randomly. Naturally. The chorus's require you to try and maintain the shuffle feel on your bass drum doubles, but if you are like me, they will slip into straight-ahead ones. Pants.
The second verse is a lot less hectic on bass drum, but the fill coming out into second chorus is awkward! Then we hit the instrumental. Fuck. You got to play fast bass doubles, maintaining the 6/8 shuffle feel, and play a shuffle on the ride. Except you have to gradually move to quarter notes on ride, with semi random 6/8 doubles. And your foot wants to move to straight-ahead doubles, especially when your ride goes to quarter notes. Oh, and dont forget to keep that hi-hat working. And the guitar solo is coming to another section, so now you got to start rolling with the bass drum (in a 6/8 feel, naturally) and hit the quarter notes on the bell of the ride. Ah, time to do a few fills, and then start the whole tom/snare interplay thing, but keep the bass going in 6/8 (though you'll probably be doing it in 4/4 like I keep doing), and you also need to start hitting some crashes, including double crashes whilst hitting the tom twice in 6/8.....aaaaaarrrggggghhhhhhhh!!
Just as you congratulate yourself on getting to the end of that section, its time for a drum solo. Doh! And not just any drum solo. You got to play it like Cesar. Except, what the hell IS he actually playing? I spent ages trying to get the same sound - that basic groove is not at all easy! Then the little paradiddle (I think) halfway through, with his left hand on floor tom and crossing up to the little tom with right hand. And of course the fast bit. Oh, and dont forget the hi hat all the way through, and also the bass drum....
And then you get out of that, and worse is to come. Got to go into the jazz section, preferably starting it in time. Play it delicately, (it don't sound very delicate on my vid does it?!)even though you have just been playing like a bastard for the past 4 minutes. Then find the original groove again...
IT IS JUST VIRTUOSO STUFF BY CESAR: AM I MAKING MYSELF CLEAR!!
Those of you who are fans of the White Lion version - please also realise that the drumming on the original is something special! White Lion do a great cover, but it is in a very different style, and the drummer is working a lot less hard than Cesar, believe me!
In the final chorus, I thought I would copy Cesar a bit by holding my right stick high in the air. Unfortunately I look like an idiot, whilst Cesar looks cool!
The outro is tricky, funnily enough! I decided NOT to emulate the athletic jump BTW: I would break my neck, I know I would.
The thing that is so special about the original drumming on this is that it manages to swing whilst at the same time it is out and out rock. That is a very special place. I can only think of Thin Lizzy and The Doors that can do this, though I guess Toto would also be included. It is a very rare gift.
Hope you all enjoy it as much as I did learning it.
BTW, I have not used tabs to learn this - I gather they are available. I cannot read music at all, and I learned this by ear, and by watching the band do it here on YouTube. So take it easy on me, ok!
Oh, and let's NOT get into a debate about whether White Lion is 'better' than the original. That is NOT what this vid is about!
