Andrew Gold, a pop wunderkind who had barely finished high school when Linda Ronstadt enlisted him to play in her backup band, and who later had a successful recording career of his own with hits like “Lonely Boy” and “Thank You for Being a Friend,” died on Friday at his home in Encino, Calif. He was 59. 
 
 His family said that he had renal cancer and had been responding well to treatment but that the cause of death might have been a heart attack. 
 
 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. 
 
 Though he was considered a masterly musician, he never learned to read music. “We gave him lessons on piano and guitar, but somehow he found it easier to just listen to something and play it by ear,” said Mr. Gold’s mother, the singer Marni Nixon. 
 
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 Both of Mr. Gold’s parents were prominent musicians. Ms. Nixon, a classically trained soprano who has performed on Broadway and with the New York Philharmonic, is best known for dubbing the movie singing voices of Natalie Wood in “West Side Story” and Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady.” His father, Ernest Gold, who died in 1999, wrote the Academy Award-winning score for the movie “Exodus,” as well as the scores for “Judgment at Nuremberg” and “Ship of Fools.” ||||| Gold died Friday in his sleep at his home in Encino, said his sister, Melani Gold Friedman. He had cancer but had been responding well to treatment, she said.He played several instruments, did arrangements and sang on such Ronstadt albums as "Heart Like a Wheel" in 1974, "Prisoner in Disguise" in 1975 and "Hasten Down the Wind" in 1976. His versatility also made him a highly regarded session player for such folk-rock musicians as James Taylor Loudon Wainwright III and J.D. Souther as well as the producer of recordings by Stephen Bishop, Nicolette Larson and others."Andrew was so enormously talented it almost seemed effortless," Ronstadt told The Times on Saturday. "He was a real cornerstone of those early records."He met Ronstadt as a high school student in the 1960s when her country-rock band the Stone Poneys performed at Oakwood School in North Hollywood. "He came up to talk," Ronstadt said. "He was so bubbly and so smart and we were so impressed with what a good musician he was."After the Stone Poneys disbanded after their hit "Different Drum" in 1967, founding member Kenny Edwards teamed with Gold and singer-songwriters Wendy Waldman and Karla Bonoff to create the folk-rock band Bryndle.In an email to The Times, Gold's former high school classmate Waldman called him "an extraordinary guitarist, pianist, drummer and record producer."Bryndle got a record deal, but the album wasn't released. The band broke up (but reunited in the 1990s). Edwards, who died in August, rejoined Ronstadt and Gold joined the band.Gold was born Aug. 2, 1951, in Burbank to composer Ernest Gold and singer Marni Nixon. His father won an Academy Award for his score for the 1960 film "Exodus," and his mother sang for Natalie Wood in "West Side Story" and Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady," among others."It was clear from the beginning that I was going to be a musician," he told The Times in 1977. "With those kind of influences at home what else could I do?"Gold's sister said he taught himself instruments by listening to the Beatles. "He could really pick up any instrument and play it," she said. He lived in England with family friends for about a year as a teenager, she said, and recorded a single with another young musician.Waldman said Gold "listened to everything under the sun and absorbed it with terrifying accuracy. It was something I always admired and found fascinating about him."Gold launched a solo career in the mid-1970s while still with Ronstadt's band. "Lonely Boy" was a hit on his second album, "What's Wrong With This Picture?" and the single "Thank You for Being a Friend" from 1978's "All This and Heaven Too" reached No. 25 on Billboard magazine's charts.He recorded with English musician Graham Gouldman in the 1980s, then continued to write, record and work with a variety of artists. Gold also did commercial work and soundtracks, such as singing the theme to the NBC sitcom "Mad About You." His last release was 2008's "Copy Cat."In addition to his sister, who lives in Tujunga, and his mother, Gold is survived by his wife, Leslie Kogan; daughters Emily, Victoria and Olivia from his marriage to Vanessa Gold, which ended in divorce; and sister Martha Carr of North Hollywood.Services will be private, but a public remembrance will be planned.
– Singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer Andrew Gold may not have been a household name, but the Los Angeles pop-rock style he helped shape in the '70s was heard around the world. Gold, who has died at the age of 59, joined Linda Ronstadt's backing band straight after high school. His guitar and piano work helped define the sound of musicians like James Taylor and Carly Simon, the New York Times notes. He also enjoyed solo success with pop hits like 1977's "Lonely Boy" and "Thank You for Being a Friend," which later became the theme song for Golden Girls. The son of two prominent musicians, he later went on to record with artists including Celine Dion, Cher, and every Beatle except John Lennon. "Andrew was so enormously talented it almost seemed effortless," Ronstadt tells the Los Angeles Times. "He was a real cornerstone of those early records." Gold, who is survived by his wife and his three children from an earlier marriage, died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home; he had cancer.