Andrew Gold, a singer-songwriter best known for a string of pop hits in the late 1970s and a knack for matching weighty themes with lighter arrangements, has died. According to the Los Angeles Times, Gold died in his sleep Friday at his home in Encino, California. He was 59.
Fans of the Miami-based sitcom The Golden Girls, certainly remember Gold's "Thank You For Being a Friend," which was performed by Cynthia Fee for the show. His highest-charting song was "Lonely Boy," a song that was later revived in P.T. Anderson's ode to the burgeoning adult film industry, Boogie Nights. "Lonely Boy" also features backing vocals by Linda Ronstadt, one of the many collaborations these two artists shared. In the 1980s, in addition to work with Art Garfunkel, Cher, James Taylor, and countless others, he formed Wax with ex-10cc member Graham Gouldman and enjoyed success with synth-flavored "Bridge to Your Heart." In recent years, he got back into the TV game by singing the theme for the Paul Reiser-Helen Hunt sitcom, Mad About You.
Gold's parents both had musical careers too. His father Ernest Gold snagged an Oscar in 1960 for the score to Exodus, and mother Marni Nixon provided vocals for several actresses, including Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.
Much more on Gold in this extensive L.A. Times obit.
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