Andrew Gold: Possibly Still Not Dead

So apparently there may be a whole Mark Twain-ish "The rumors of my death have been greatly exagerrated" kind of deal going on for Linda Ronstadt guitarist Andrew Gold.



Which is to say all sorts of bloggers have been posting obits for the guy, even though there's no mention of his passing over at his official website and I can't find any definitive news at more traditional outlets like the NY Times.

Hopefully the estimable craftsman is still with us; I'll keep you posted as this shakes out.

I should also add that I once got into a great deal of trouble with certain readers of Stereo Review when I allowed in a column at the time how Gold's "Lonely Boy" -- his big hit, as seen in the above clip -- was actually a quite delightfully winsome and melodic piece of post-Beatles pop/rock. I remember in particular one letter to the editor in which I was told "Shoes, the Sneetches, and [some other then current indie fave] are pop. 'Lonely Boy' is pap. You should learn the difference."

Behold, I thought to myself when I read it, the perils of being insufficiently cynical for some people.

POSTSCRIPT: The June 6 2011 Los Angeles Times made it official. Apparently, Gold had been fighting cancer for some time; although he was supposedly making progress, he died of a heart attack in his sleep. He leaves three children, and -- even more heartbreaking -- his mother Marni Nixon.