Musician Andrew Gold Dead at 59

Andrew Gold, a musician and alum of the Oakwood School in North Hollywood, who went on to play with Linda Ronstadt before finding solo fame of his own, died in Encino Friday, according to the New York Times.

From the Times' obit:

Mr. Gold’s combination of instrumental versatility and songwriting skill gave him a prominent if sometimes invisible role in shaping the Los Angeles-dominated pop-rock style of the 1970s. In addition to his instrumental and arranging work for Ms. Ronstadt’s breakout 1974 album, “Heart Like a Wheel,” Mr. Gold was a much sought after musician whose guitar and piano work (he also played bass and drums) helped define the seamless texture of recordings by artists like James Taylor, Carly Simon, Maria Muldaur, Jackson Browne and Loudon Wainwright III.

According to the Times, Gold met Ronstadt when her band, The Stone Poneys, performed at the Oakwood School in North Hollywood (now Valley Village) in the 1960s. They struck up a conversation, and before long he had joined the band. He played with Ronstadt on and off through the 60s and 70s and also launched his own solo career. He had a top 10 hit, Lonely Boy, and a No. 25 hit, Thank You For Being a Friend, which later became the theme song to the sitcom Golden Girls.

Gold reportedly had renal cancer but may have died of a heart attack, according to the Times. Gold was 59.