From Spinner Dot Com:

Singer-songwriter Andrew Gold, the writer of the 1977 hit “Lonely Boy” and a frequent collaborator of Linda Ronstadt’s, died in his sleep at his Encino, Calif., home on June 3, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 59-year-old had been battling cancer.

Gold seemed destined to find a career in music, thanks to the accomplishments of his family. His mother, Marni Nixon, sang for Natalie Wood in West Side Story and for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, while his father, Ernest Gold, won an Oscar for his score of the 1960 film Exodus.

Taking up multiple instruments on Ronstadt’s Heart Like a Wheel, Prisoner in Disguise and Hasten Down the Wind, Gold added a charm and robustness to the famous singer’s records. “Andrew was so enormously talented it almost seemed effortless,” Ronstadt told the Los Angeles Times. “He was a real cornerstone of those early records … He was so bubbly and so smart and we were so impressed with what a good musician he was.”

Gold worked as a session musician for James Taylor, Carly Simon and Loudon Wainwright III. His impressive resume also includes the theme song to NBC’s Mad About You and his hits “Lonely Boy” and “Thank You for Being a Friend,” the latter of which was used as the Golden Girls theme.

Gold is survived by his wife, Leslie Kogan, his mother, two sisters and three daughters.