His sister, Melani Gold Friedman, tells the Los Angeles Times that Gold died in his sleep Friday at his home in Encino, Calif. She says he had cancer but had been responding to treatment.

Gold was a multi-instrumental player whose popular singles included “Thank You for Being a Friend” and the British hit “Never Let Her Slip Away.”

He was in Linda Ronstadt’s band, arranged songs for and performed on several Ronstadt albums, including Heart Like a Wheel, and did session work for artists such as James Taylor and Carly Simon.

Gold’s mother was movie singer Marni Nixon, and his father was Ernest Gold, who composed the Oscar-winning score for “Exodus.”