In the 1970s, Andrew Gold was a key contributor to Linda Ronstadt’s band, playing on her albums Heart Like a Wheel, Prisoner in Disguise and Hasten Down the Wind. On the latter, he also co-wrote the song “Try Me Again” with Ronstadt. And yes, Gold was behind that iconic guitar solo on her cover of “You’re No Good.”
But Gold also found success on his own after embarking on a solo career. In 1978, he was riding on the success of his breakout solo single “Lonely Boy” when he had another, more moderate hit. “Thank You for Being a Friend” appeared on Gold’s third album, All This and Heaven Too, and reached 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1978.
Written by Gold, the song featured a feel-good vibe with piano, synthesizers and catchy harmonies along with lyrics about a lasting friendship.
Gold initially thought of “Thank You for Being a Friend” as a “throwaway” song.
“That song took about an hour to write,” he once shared in an interview. “And it was just this little throwaway thing. And then we made this really good record of it.”
The radio hit would go on to have an iconic second life seven years later when a cover version by Cindy Fee was used as the theme song for the NBC sitcom The Golden Girls.
“Years later, in the mid-80s, you know the girl from Maude, Bea Arthur, she’s got a new TV show,” Gold said. “[They] called me up and said they wanted to use this song, ‘Thank You for Being a Friend,’ recorded in a simple version that they just did with the studio singer, for this show called The Golden Girls. It was no big thing. And then I came back about 3 or four months later, and the show was out, and it was top 10.”
Gold, who died in 2011, once joked about his reaction when he got the request to use his song. “They called me up and said they wanted to use it, and I said fine,” Gold recalled to Billboard. “It’s great. If I have a stroke or something, that will pay my hospital bill.”
Decades later, “Thank You for Being a Friend” remains one of the most iconic TV theme songs ever, as well as a yacht rock classic that fans of all ages still love today.
Related: 1977 Soft Rock Hit, Featuring Linda Ronstadt on Backing Vocals, Spent 5 Months on the Charts—But Never Reached No. 1
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