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Musician Andrew Gold Dies Aged 59

Posted in: Musicouching by Mike Godfrey on June 4th, 2011 | 6 Comments

American musician, songwriter and singer, Andrew Gold, most famous for hit "Lonely Boy", has died at the young age of 59.

Origins

Andrew Maurice Gold was born on the 2nd August, 1951 in Burbank, California to a very proud musical parentage. Father Ernest Gold was an Academy Award winner for his compositions in the film Exodus, whilst his Mother, Marni Nixon, was the singing voice behind numerous actresses e.g. Natalie Wood in West Side Story, Deborah Kerr in The King and I and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.

Early Career

Although he started to write songs at the age of 13, Andrew Gold first came to prominence within the industry in the early 1970’s, working as writer and producer for many artists and notably as instrumentalist and arranger on Linda Ronstadt’s “Heart Like a Wheel” album. At that time he was also a member of the American folk rock band, Bryndle.

In the mid 1970’s Gold started recording as a solo artist, releasing 4 album sets before the onset of the following decade. His worldwide top ten hit “Lonely Boy” was released in 1977

Lonely Boy – Andrew Gold

In 1977 he worked with Art Garfunkel, playing all instruments on “I Only Have Eyes for You.”

Other massive hits followed such as “Thank You for Being a Friend“, a version of which was later used as the theme for the NBC situation comedy The Golden Girls. Hit biggest hit in the UK came in 1978 when “Never Let Her Slip Away” charted at a high of no.5

Later Career

In the early 1980’s Gold was invited to become a member of British pop/rock outfit 10cc, by founder members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. He unfortunately had to decline the offer due to pressure of other work. After 10cc split up in 1983, Gold got together with Gouldman to form Wax, touring the world and having many successful hits, such as “Bridge to Your Heart” over a 5 year period.

Bridge to Your Heart – Wax

In the 1990’s, Gold again joined up with the members of Bryndle to release an album and continued his own solo career with other sets up until 2008. He also produced 7 albums for Japanese singer-songwriter Eikichi Yazawa.

Andrew Gold passed away on June 3rd, 2011 at the age of 59. He had apparently ballooned in weight over recent years and died due to heart failure.

A brilliant musician and talented vocalist, he will be sadly missed.