Andrew Gold
August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011
Andrew Gold was an American Singer-Songwriter who, over a career that spanned nearly four decades, scored hits with “Oh What A Lonely Boy,” “Thank You For Being A Friend,” “Never Let Her Slip Away,” and “Final Frontier.” Born into a show business family – his mother, Marni Nixon provided the singing voices for many actresses in musicals, while his father, Ernest Gold was an Oscar-winning composer, Gold joined their ranks by his early 20s. His first band of note, Bryndle, included Kenny Edwards, Karla Bonoff, and Wendy Waldman. During that period, he played a key role in the early popularity of Linda Ronstadt. Gold played on most of her early solo albums, including Heart Like A Wheel. He was also a part of her band for several years. As a solo artist, Gold released (and wrote for others) numerous singles that helped define the ’70s southern California sound and later found homes on popular television and film soundtracks. “Lonely Boy” can be heard during pivotal scenes in Boogie Nights and Water Boy, while “Thank You For Being A Friend” became the iconic theme song to The Golden Girls. His “Final Frontier” went on to become the theme to another hit show, Mad About You, and was the wake-up call aboard the Mars Pathfinder in 1996. Over the course of his career, Gold played on countless major hits for a who’s who of popular music. That list includes Art Garfunkel, Eric Carmen, Stephen Bishop, Cher, 10cc, and Jackson Browne. Andrew Gold died of a heart attack on June 3, 2011. He was 59.
Thanks to David Plastik of eRockPhotos for the assist.
What You Should Own
This one makes me very sad. Andrew Gold was one of the very classic singer-songwriters from the 1970s…he just never found a high level of fame. I wore out the grooves of his album “All This and Heaven Too” several times over the years. In the late 1990s I actually engaged him in an email conversation encouraging him to release that recording on CD…which he did a few years later. “Always for You” — a beautiful ballad from that album — is the song that my wife and I danced to for our wedding. Good night, Mr. Gold…you are well-remembered here.