Andrew Gold
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Andrew Gold (born August 2, 1951, in Burbank, California) is an American singer, musician and songwriter, best known for his 1977 Top 10 single "Lonely Boy," a song originally perceived to be autobiographical (though denied by Gold), and the 1978 single "Thank You for Being a Friend."
A prolific session musician, Gold joined the family business: his parents were singer Marni Nixon (who provided the singing voice for numerous well-known actresses, notably Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn), his father was Academy Award-winning composer Ernest Gold. Andrew began writing songs at the age of 13, and by the early 1970s was working as a musician, songwriter and producer for many well-known stars, including Linda Ronstadt and Art Garfunkel. He played a major role as multi-instrumentalist and arranger for Ronstadt's breakthrough album, 1974's Heart Like a Wheel. Among other accomplishments, he played the guitar solo and the majority of other instruments on the album's first track, "You're No Good," Ronstadt's only No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1975 Gold began recording as a solo artist, releasing four studio albums. Although "Lonely Boy" was the bigger radio hit, "Thank You For Being A Friend" gained new popularity as the theme song for the popular 1985-1992 NBC situation comedy The Golden Girls. "Lonely Boy" has appeared in several movie soundtracks, including Boogie Nights (1997).
Later, Gold played on and co-produced Ten Out of 10 by 10cc, which led to his founding the 1980s pop group Wax with Graham Gouldman, and the 1990s band Bryndle. He played keyboards on "Johnny Can't Read" from Don Henley's solo debut album I Can't Stand Still. He has also produced and written songs for numerous movie and television soundtracks, and sang the theme song for the 1990s Paul Reiser sitcom Mad About You. He also produced seven albums for Eikichi Yazawa, a famous Japanese rock/pop singer.
Contents |
[edit] Discography
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- includes "Lonely Boy"
- 1978 All This And Heaven Too
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- includes "Thank You for Being a Friend"
- 1979 Whirlwind
- 1996 ...Since 1951
- 1997 Thank You for Being a Friend - The Best of Andrew Gold
- 2000 The Spence Manor Suite
- 2002 Intermission
[edit] Trivia
- Has a younger sister born in 1953
- His father Ernest Gold died in 1999
- An extract from "Thank You for Being a Friend" was included at the end of the infamous Wearside Jack tape during the investigation of the Yorkshire Ripper murders.
