Andrew Maurice Gold (August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011) influenced much of the sound of Los Angeles-dominated pop rock in the 1970’s. Best known for his solo hits Never Let Her Slip Away and Lonely Boy, he was an accomplished all-round musician, composer and arranger. His skills in the recording studio helped to propel Linda Ronstadt to stardom, and he worked with a long list of top-flight artists from the Eagles and Jackson Browne to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Cher and Celine Dion.
A musical career seemed almost inevitable from the moment
he was born, in Burbank, California. His parents were Marni Nixon, the singer
who dubbed the musical performances of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Deborah
Kerr in The King And I and Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and the composer
Ernest Gold, who scored the movie Exodus. Andrew recalled living in Laurel
Canyon as a teenager: "My father had this little studio with a piano and
all his awards. When he was working on a movie he'd go up there and compose.
I'd wake up to this piano music over and over. I was always going to be a
musician, and my parents encouraged me."
He first met Ronstadt as a high school student in the
1960s, when he saw her perform with her band the Stone Poneys. When the group
split up in 1967, Gold teamed up with their guitarist Kenny Edwards and
singer-songwriters Wendy Waldman and Karla Bonoff to form Bryndle (the
"y" in the name was in homage to The Byrds). The group secured a
recording deal and made an album, though it was not released.
Bryndle split up, and Edwards and Gold joined Ronstadt's
new band. Gold was a crucial contributor to her 1974 breakthrough album, Heart
Like a Wheel. In 1975 Linda Ronstadt had her only US No 1 with a revival of
"You're No Good", previously a hit for Betty Everett and the Swinging
Blue Jeans. The record was produced by Peter Asher but it was a tour de force
for Gold, who played electric piano and drums as well as the guitar solo. Gold
sang a duet with Ronstadt on a revival of the Everly Brothers' "When Will
I Be Loved", while Ronstadt encouraged him to branch out on a solo career.
Gold released his
first album, Andrew Gold, in 1975, and following it up with What's Wrong With
This Picture? (1976). Lonely Boy gave him his first big hit, in 1977, (with
Ronstadt on backing vocals) cracking the US top 10 and reaching No 11 in
Britain. Gold revealed that the song was partly inspired by Ry Cooder's version
of How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live. The following year brought a
streak of further hits with How Can This Be Love, Thank You for Being a Friend
and Never Let Her Slip Away, the last of these gaining far more recognition in
the UK than in the US (it also featured Freddie Mercury on backing vocals).
Gold now began to exhibit his skills across a broader
canvas. He played all the instruments on Art Garfunkel's I Only Have Eyes for
You and made numerous instrumental contributions to Garfunkel's 1975 album
Breakaway. He played the drums and
guitar on Eric Carmen's album Boats Against the Current (1977), which included the hit She Did It. He co-wrote the chart-topping single I Saw the Light (1992) for Wynonna Judd, and produced the top 20 hit Personally for Bonoff. He worked with all the ex-Beatles except George Harrison, and with Don Henley, Brian Wilson, James Taylor and many more.
guitar on Eric Carmen's album Boats Against the Current (1977), which included the hit She Did It. He co-wrote the chart-topping single I Saw the Light (1992) for Wynonna Judd, and produced the top 20 hit Personally for Bonoff. He worked with all the ex-Beatles except George Harrison, and with Don Henley, Brian Wilson, James Taylor and many more.
Having collaborated on three songs with 10cc, Gold was
invited to join the group, but was prevented from doing so by other
commitments. However, when 10cc split in 1983, Gold teamed up with Graham
Gouldman in Wax, which scored several big hits including Right Between the Eyes
and Bridge to Your Heart,
before splitting up in 1989. In the 90s, he reassembled Bryndle
with its original members, and the group finally managed to release its debut album.
before splitting up in 1989. In the 90s, he reassembled Bryndle
with its original members, and the group finally managed to release its debut album.
In 1996, Gold left Bryndle to essay several whimsical
solo projects, such as the Halloween album Halloween Howls (1996) and a set of
60s pastiche tracks called Greetings from Planet Love, released under the
pseudonym of the Fraternal Order of the All (1997).
In 2000, Gold compiled a Wax rarities album, House of Wax
on Wax, as well as recording and releasing a new solo album The Spence Manor
Suite; this last was followed in 2002 by another solo collection, Intermission.
In the early 2000s, he formed a Byrds tribute band, Byrds of a Feather, which performed
in the Los Angeles area. He appeared in a 2006 concert with the classic rock
group America, and singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop.
He also pursued a fruitful sideline in music for
commercials and movie and TV soundtracks. His song Thank You for Being a Friend
was used as the theme for the television series The Golden Girls, in a version
by Cynthia Fee; and also cropped up in episodes of The Simpsons and Saturday
Night Live.
Gold was diagnosed with kidney cancer and responded well
to treatment, but on June 3, 2011, he died in his sleep from what is suspected
to have been heart failure at age 59 in Los Angeles.
(Edited mainly from article by Adam Sweering @ The
Guardian & Wikipedia)
5 comments:
For “Andrew Gold - The Essential Collection” go here:
https://mega.nz/file/4vRjBQiC#Eo8Ue1MBqlg-bU7iL7CCW-Ve0B1oKDV48uVjsPBkSQI
CD1
1. Lonely Boy
2. How Can This Be Love
3. Oh Urania (Take Me Away)
4. Never Let Her Slip Away
5. Kiss This One Goodbye
6. You’re Free
7. One Of Them Is Me
8. Go Back Home Again
9. Stay
10. Shadows Of Love - Wax
11. Heartaches In Heartaches
12. Firefly
13. Anchors Aweigh - Wax
14. Hope You Feel Good
15. Love Hurts
16. Ten Years Behind Me
17. Thank You For Being A Friend
CD2
1. Right Between The Eyes - Wax
2. Bridge To Your Heart - Wax
3. Do Wah Diddy Diddy
4. Leave Her Alone
5. Hang My Picture Straight
6. Nine To Five
7. I’m Coming Home
8. Genevieve
9. Endless Flight
10. Passing Thing
11. Angel Woman
12. That’s Why I Love You
13. Looking For My Love
14. Still You Linger On
15. A Note From You
16. Always For You
17. Ball And Chain - Wax
18. Don’t Play That Song - Wax
This 2 CD collection features tracks from Gold’s illustrious solo career as well as his time with Wax. In my view, I don't think there is one bad song on this impressive double album; in fact you could say that there were some tracks that would've made further hits for him. Anyway, this is a class production which deserves listening to. One can see again his superb songwriting abilities.
A big thank you to Polar Bear @ forwardwiththesong blog for original post.
Thank you!
Wow!
Thanks for it and for all1
Gracias por todos los aportes.
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