Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Gold
died of a heart attack on Friday. He was 59.
Gold first attracted notice with his work on Linda Ronstadt’s
1974 breakthrough album Heart Like a Wheel. He played
nearly every instrument on her number one hit “You’re
No Good.”
He subsequently landed his own record deal and had two hits of
his own in the late 1970’s - “Lonely Boy” and
“Thank You For
Being a Friend.” The latter hit, of course, would become
the theme song for NBC sitcom The Golden Girls
(with vocals done by Cynthia Fee.) All the while, Gold continued to
provide back up vocals for Ronstadt’s albums throughout the 1970’s
and into the 1980’s.
In the early 1980’s, Gold was invited to join the British band
10cc but declined their offer. However, he would eventually join
forces with 10cc’s Graham Gouldman to form the duo Wax, an act
which had several hits in the U.K. and on the European charts.
In later years, Gold composed music for movies and television
most notably “The Final
Frontier”, the theme song for the NBC sitcom Mad About
You.
albert constantine jr.| 6.6.11 @ 9:04AM
I believe in (and hope and pray for) a forgiving God. As a result, when Andrew appears before Him, I'm sure he will be able to explain the selfish impulses that allowed him to bemoan the mere existence of his younger sister which he unashamedly immortalized in the lyrics in "Lonely Boy" because it cut into the attention he received from his parents. I make this observation, of course, from the perspective of a second and middle child.
Dave| 6.6.11 @ 9:17AM
I don't think the song was autobiographical. Gold himself has always denied that it is.
gearjammer| 6.6.11 @ 10:32AM
One less vote for Obama.
Seek| 6.6.11 @ 11:34AM
Is this how you keep score? A human being -- a talented one, at that -- has died, and for you it's a political event to celebrate.
Terrance Shuman| 6.6.11 @ 12:29PM
A minor point: Gold did not compose "The Final Frontier." The song was co-written by series star Paul Reiser and producer Don Was. Gold performed the original version for the TV show; another version with Anita Baker doing the vocals was used for the show's final couple of seasons.
Occam's Tool| 6.6.11 @ 9:37PM
Hey, at least it's honest. My kid sister is a Liberal Obama loving git. So are my parents. I am a lonely boy.