September 14, 1985 – The popular series “The Golden Girls” debuted on NBC-TV

SEPTEMBER 14, 1985 – The popular series “The Golden Girls” debuted on NBC-TV. Its theme song was “Thank You for Being a Friend,” written by Andrew Gold (August 2, 1951 – June 3, 2011) but sung by a jingle singer named Cynthia Fee. Gold’s version was released in 1978 and reached #25 in the US.This breezy song embodied the Southern California sound of the late ’70s – Gold said he was in his “Brian Wilson phase” when he wrote it. Jeff Porcaro from the band Toto played drums on this track and session guitarist Waddy Wachtel played guitar.

One unusual instrument in the mix of this track was sleigh bells.The song finds Gold expressing gratitude to a true friend, assuring this person that he will be there until the end. He wrote that the song was “sort of dedicated” to his musical partner Brock Walsh and his manager Norman Epstein.Gold was born in Burbank, California, and eventually followed his parents into show business.

His mother was singer Marni Nixon, who provided the singing voice for numerous actresses, notably Natalie Wood in “West Side Story,” Deborah Kerr in “The King and I,” and Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady.” His father was Ernest Gold, an Austrian-born composer who won an Academy Award for his score for the movie “Exodus.”Andrew Gold played on scores of records by other artists, most notably Linda Ronstadt’s, and had his own success with other US Top 40 hits “Lonely Boy” (1977) as well as the UK Top Five hit “Never Let Her Slip Away” (1978). In the 1980s, he had further international chart success as half of Wax, a collaboration with 10cc’s Graham Gouldman.

They reached #43 in the US in 1986 with “Right Between The Eyes” and #12 in the UK in 1987 with “Bridge to Your Heart.” He also co-wrote the Wynonna Judd song “I Saw the Light,” which was a #1 Country hit in 1992.During the 1990s, Gold produced, composed, performed on and wrote tracks for films, commercials, and television soundtracks, such as “Final Frontier,” the theme of the sitcom “Mad About You.” Gold didn’t write that one though, Paul Reiser and Don Was did.

Gold sang the version that was used on the show for the first five seasons.Gold was diagnosed with kidney cancer and responded well to treatment, but in 2011, he died in his sleep from what is suspected to have been heart failure at age 59 in Los Angeles.

LYRICS:
Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
Your heart is true you’re a pal and a confidant
I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow
And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see, the biggest gift would be from me
And the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
If it’s a car you lack
I’d surely buy you a cadillac
Whatever you need, anytime of the day or night
I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow
And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it’s hard to hear
I will stand real close and say,
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Let me tell you ‘bout a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
And when we die and float away
Into the night, the Milky Way
You’ll hear me call, as we ascend
I’ll see you there, then once again
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
Whoa, tell you about a friend
(Thank you right now, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend
(I wanna tell you right now, and tell you again)
Thank you for being a friend
(I wanna thank you, thank you, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend