Andrew Gold facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Andrew Gold
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Andrew Gold performing in 1980
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Andrew Maurice Gold |
| Born | August 2, 1951 Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 3, 2011 (aged 59) Los Angeles, California |
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| Years active | 1967–2011 |
| Labels | Asylum |
Andrew Maurice Gold (born August 2, 1951 – died June 3, 2011) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and music producer. He was very important in shaping the pop and soft rock music scene in Los Angeles during the 1970s. Andrew Gold played on many records for other artists, especially Linda Ronstadt. He also had his own successful songs like "Lonely Boy" (1977) and "Thank You for Being a Friend" (1978). His song "Never Let Her Slip Away" (1978) was a big hit in the UK.
In the 1980s, he found more international success as half of the band Wax, working with Graham Gouldman from the band 10cc. Later, in the 1990s, Andrew Gold created music for movies, commercials, and TV shows. He sang "Final Frontier," the theme song for the TV show Mad About You. His song "Thank You for Being a Friend" became famous as the opening theme for The Golden Girls. Also, his fun children's song "Spooky, Scary Skeletons" (1996) became a huge hit online years later. Andrew Gold passed away in 2011 at 59 years old from heart problems.
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Growing Up
Andrew Gold was born in Burbank, California, on August 2, 1951. He grew up in a family deeply involved in music and entertainment. His mother, Marni Nixon, was a famous singer who provided the singing voices for actresses in classic movies. She sang for Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady.
His father, Ernest Gold, was a composer born in Austria. He won an Academy Award for his music in the movie Exodus. Andrew had two younger sisters. He started writing his own songs when he was just 13 years old. When he was 16, he lived in the United Kingdom for a year. There, he got his first record deal with Polydor Records in London. This led to his first single, "Of All the Little Girls," which he recorded with his friend Charlie Villiers in 1967.
Music Career
The 1970s: Solo Success and Collaborations
By the early 1970s, Andrew Gold was working full-time in music. He was a musician, songwriter, and producer. He was part of a Los Angeles band called Bryndle. They released a song called "Woke Up This Morning" in 1970.
Andrew Gold played a big role in Linda Ronstadt's successful album Heart Like a Wheel in 1974. He played many instruments and helped arrange the music for her next two albums too. He played most of the instruments on "You're No Good", which was Linda Ronstadt's only No. 1 song. He also played on her other hits like "When Will I Be Loved". He was a member of her band from 1973 to 1977 and continued to perform with her sometimes in the 1980s and 1990s.
In 1975, Andrew Gold released his first solo album, Andrew Gold. He also played most of the instruments on Art Garfunkel's hit song "I Only Have Eyes For You". This song was a huge hit in the United Kingdom.
His second album, What's Wrong with This Picture?, came out in 1976. It included the popular song "Lonely Boy," which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1977. In 1977, he also played guitar on two songs for Eric Carmen's album.
Andrew Gold's song "Thank You for Being a Friend" from his third album, All This and Heaven Too, became very popular. It reached No. 25 in 1978. Later, a different singer, Cindy Fee, performed it as the famous theme song for the TV show The Golden Girls.
His biggest hit in the United Kingdom was "Never Let Her Slip Away". It reached number five on the UK Singles Chart twice. Freddie Mercury, a friend of Andrew Gold, even sang background vocals on this song without being credited. Andrew Gold also toured with the Eagles and worked with artists like Jackson Browne and James Taylor.
The 1980s: Wax and More
In the 1980s, Andrew Gold continued to be very busy. He played on Cher's successful 1989 album Heart of Stone. In the early 1990s, he wrote songs for country stars like Trisha Yearwood and Wynonna Judd. He co-wrote Wynonna Judd's No. 1 song "I Saw The Light". He also produced songs for Vince Gill and wrote music for Celine Dion. He even arranged a song for the 1984 movie Starman.
Wax: A New Band
In 1981, Andrew Gold worked with 10cc members Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman. He produced, co-wrote, sang, and played on three of their songs. Later, Gouldman and Stewart asked him to join 10cc, but he couldn't due to other commitments.
In late 1983, Andrew Gold and Graham Gouldman formed a new band called Wax. They recorded and toured for five years. Wax had international success, especially in the UK, with hits like "Right Between the Eyes" and their biggest song, "Bridge to Your Heart". Wax stopped touring and recording in 1989, but Andrew and Graham continued to write music together.
The 1990s: Halloween Howls and TV Themes
In the 1990s, Andrew Gold reunited with his old bandmates from Bryndle. They released their first full album, Bryndle.
In 1996, Andrew Gold released a fun album for kids called Halloween Howls. It featured classic Halloween songs like "Monster Mash" and themes from The Addams Family and Ghostbusters. It also had nine new songs, including "Spooky, Scary Skeletons". This song became incredibly popular online years later. That same year, he released another solo album, ....Since 1951.
He also created a tribute album to 1960s music called Greetings from Planet Love. He released it under the name "The Fraternal Order of the All." On this album, Andrew Gold played almost all the instruments and sang all the vocals himself. He made songs that sounded like his favorite 1960s bands, such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys.
Andrew Gold also wrote and produced music for many films and TV shows. He sang "Final Frontier," the theme song for the TV show Mad About You. In 1996, his version of this song was even used as a wake-up call for the Mars Pathfinder space probe! He also produced seven albums for Japanese singer-songwriter Eikichi Yazawa.
The 2000s: Later Works
In 2000, Andrew Gold put together a collection of rare Wax songs called Bikini Wax. He also released new solo albums, The Spence Manor Suite (2000) and Intermission (2002). In the early 2000s, he formed a band that paid tribute to The Byrds, called Byrds of a Feather. They performed in the Los Angeles area.
In 2006, he performed in a concert with the band America and singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop. This show was later released as a DVD. Andrew Gold performed his own hits like "Thank You for Being a Friend" and "Lonely Boy." He also played guitar and sang with America and Stephen Bishop. Andrew Gold had produced America's Christmas album in 2002 and co-wrote a song on it called "Christmas in California."
Lasting Impact
In the early 2010s, Andrew Gold's song "Spooky Scary Skeletons" became super popular online, especially around Halloween. It started on a video game forum and quickly became a viral hit. Many people made remixes and dance videos using the song on YouTube. New York magazine even called it the "Internet's Halloween anthem" in 2019. A popular remix by YouTuber Dave Wave was later put on Spotify. The song also became a huge trend on TikTok, with videos using it getting hundreds of millions of views. Because of its popularity, a special digital version of Halloween Howls was released in 2019. This new version included two extended electronic dance remixes of "Spooky Scary Skeletons."
"Spooky, Scary Skeletons" was even turned into a children's picture book by Random House Children's Books in 2024. The book features the lyrics of the song.
In 2020, an early version of Andrew Gold's song "Savannah" was released online. This was followed by Something New: Unreleased Gold. This album was a collection of songs that had never been released before, including some demo versions. It came out on vinyl, CD, and digital platforms.
Personal Life
Andrew Gold was married to Vanessa Gold, and they had three daughters: Emily, Victoria, and Olivia. Later, he was engaged to singer Nicolette Larson in the early 1980s. He then married Leslie Kogan, who now helps manage his music and legacy.
Even though his song "Lonely Boy" included details like his birth year, Andrew Gold said the song wasn't about his own life. He said he had a very happy childhood.
Andrew Gold was diagnosed with kidney cancer and responded well to treatment. However, he passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 3, 2011, at the age of 59, due to heart problems.
Images for kids
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Andrew Gold performing in 1980
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Andrew Gold in a promotional picture, 1980
