Post by Rob Durkee on Jun 5, 2011 21:41:00 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
Andrew Gold, who was most famous for the late 1970's hits "Thank You For Being A Friend" and "Lonely Boy," died of a heart attack on Friday, June 3, 2011 in Los Angeles. He was 59.
"Lonely Boy" peaked at #3 on the Cash Box pop chart in June and July of 1977. It made the soundtracks of two movies--"Boogie Nights" and "The Waterboy"--and would become the #23 single for the year 1977. Ten months later in April, 1978, "Thank You For Being A Friend" just missed the Cash Box top 10, peaking at #11. For the year 1978, "Friend" sneaked into the year-end rankings at #98.
Although "Thank You For Being A Friend" didn't peak as high as "Lonely Boy," a case could be made that it was Gold's most famous song. "Friend" was often used as a dedication song on Casey Kasem's countdown shows. In fact, it was the final Long Distance Dedication song ever for Casey. It was dedicated to him by one of his many fans on his final countdown shows that aired on the Fourth Of July weekend of 2009.
"Friend" also became the theme song sung by Cynthia Fee for the TV series "Golden Girls" from 1985 to 1992. Fee would later re-record the song to make it the theme song for the CBS spinoff TV show, "The Golden Palace."
Long before "Lonely Boy," Andrew Gold was a fixture in music along with his parents. His dad, the late Ernest Gold, won an Oscar for writing the music for the movie "Exodus" and won a Golden Globe for his work on another movie, "On The Beach." According to writer Paul Cashmere of the web site undercover.com, Andrew's mom, Marni Nixon, was the singing voice for at least three major actresses. They were Natalie Wood ("West Side Story"), Deborah Kerr ("The King And I") and Audrey Hepburn ("My Fair Lady").
Andrew Gold's early music projects included writing songs at the age of 13 and forming the group Bryndle in the late 1960's. Bryndle's lineup included Karla Bonoff, who would have a Top 40 hit in 1982 with "Personally."
Andrew's musical talent included the ability to play a multitude of instruments. He played many instruments for the 1974 "Heart Like A Wheel" album that put Linda Ronstadt on the musical map. He played all the instruments on Art Garfunkel's 1975 hit, "I Only Have Eyes For You." Plus, he played guitar and drums on Eric Carmen's 1977 hit, "She Did It." According to Wikipedia, he had a #5 hit in England in 1978 with "Never Let her Slip Away." He toured with the Eagles and Jackson Browne plus had ties with the Beatles. Gold sang on records and/or played live with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon.
Andrew was also a long-time fan of the group, 10cc. After 10cc broke up in the 1980's, Andrew and 10cc member Graham Goldman formed the group, Wax. In 1986, Wax barely missed the Cash Box pop chart's Top 40 with "Right Between The Eyes," which reached #42. No one is sure whatever happened to the group 10cc, but a source close to this writer indicated that someone is working on such a project that dates back to 1991.
According to writer Christopher Morris of Variety Magazine, Gold was a producer, writer and sideman for a number of other artists. That list includes Celine Dion, Stephen Bishop, Vince Gill, Aaron Neville, Nicolette Larson, James Taylor, Wynonna Judd, Cher and Brian Wilson.
Andrew Gold is the answer to an ultra-trivia question. His voice was the first to be heard on the planet Mars in 1996. That's when his version of "Final Frontier," the theme song for the TV series, "Mad About You," was used as the wakeup call for the Mars Pathfinder space probe.
Andrew Gold, who was most famous for the late 1970's hits "Thank You For Being A Friend" and "Lonely Boy," died of a heart attack on Friday, June 3, 2011 in Los Angeles. He was 59.
"Lonely Boy" peaked at #3 on the Cash Box pop chart in June and July of 1977. It made the soundtracks of two movies--"Boogie Nights" and "The Waterboy"--and would become the #23 single for the year 1977. Ten months later in April, 1978, "Thank You For Being A Friend" just missed the Cash Box top 10, peaking at #11. For the year 1978, "Friend" sneaked into the year-end rankings at #98.
Although "Thank You For Being A Friend" didn't peak as high as "Lonely Boy," a case could be made that it was Gold's most famous song. "Friend" was often used as a dedication song on Casey Kasem's countdown shows. In fact, it was the final Long Distance Dedication song ever for Casey. It was dedicated to him by one of his many fans on his final countdown shows that aired on the Fourth Of July weekend of 2009.
"Friend" also became the theme song sung by Cynthia Fee for the TV series "Golden Girls" from 1985 to 1992. Fee would later re-record the song to make it the theme song for the CBS spinoff TV show, "The Golden Palace."
Long before "Lonely Boy," Andrew Gold was a fixture in music along with his parents. His dad, the late Ernest Gold, won an Oscar for writing the music for the movie "Exodus" and won a Golden Globe for his work on another movie, "On The Beach." According to writer Paul Cashmere of the web site undercover.com, Andrew's mom, Marni Nixon, was the singing voice for at least three major actresses. They were Natalie Wood ("West Side Story"), Deborah Kerr ("The King And I") and Audrey Hepburn ("My Fair Lady").
Andrew Gold's early music projects included writing songs at the age of 13 and forming the group Bryndle in the late 1960's. Bryndle's lineup included Karla Bonoff, who would have a Top 40 hit in 1982 with "Personally."
Andrew's musical talent included the ability to play a multitude of instruments. He played many instruments for the 1974 "Heart Like A Wheel" album that put Linda Ronstadt on the musical map. He played all the instruments on Art Garfunkel's 1975 hit, "I Only Have Eyes For You." Plus, he played guitar and drums on Eric Carmen's 1977 hit, "She Did It." According to Wikipedia, he had a #5 hit in England in 1978 with "Never Let her Slip Away." He toured with the Eagles and Jackson Browne plus had ties with the Beatles. Gold sang on records and/or played live with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon.
Andrew was also a long-time fan of the group, 10cc. After 10cc broke up in the 1980's, Andrew and 10cc member Graham Goldman formed the group, Wax. In 1986, Wax barely missed the Cash Box pop chart's Top 40 with "Right Between The Eyes," which reached #42. No one is sure whatever happened to the group 10cc, but a source close to this writer indicated that someone is working on such a project that dates back to 1991.
According to writer Christopher Morris of Variety Magazine, Gold was a producer, writer and sideman for a number of other artists. That list includes Celine Dion, Stephen Bishop, Vince Gill, Aaron Neville, Nicolette Larson, James Taylor, Wynonna Judd, Cher and Brian Wilson.
Andrew Gold is the answer to an ultra-trivia question. His voice was the first to be heard on the planet Mars in 1996. That's when his version of "Final Frontier," the theme song for the TV series, "Mad About You," was used as the wakeup call for the Mars Pathfinder space probe.
