Gold, also called golden, is a colour. The web colour gold is sometimes referred to as golden to distinguish it from the colour metallic gold. The use of gold as a colour term in traditional usage is more often applied to the colour “metallic gold”. The first recorded use of golden as a colour name in English was in 1300 to refer to the element gold and in 1423 to refer to blond hair. Metallic gold, such as in paint, is often called goldtone, or gold ground when describing a solid gold background. In heraldry, the French word ‘Or’ is used. In model building, the coluor gold is different from brass. A shiny or metallic silvertone object can be painted with transparent yellow yellow to obtain goldtone, something often done with Christmas decorations.
“Goldfinger” is the title song from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Composed by John Barry and with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Antony Newley, the song was performed by Shirley Bassey for the film’s opening and closing title sequences, as well as the soundtrack album release. The single release of the song gave Bassey her only Billboard top forty hit, peaking in the Top 10 at No. 8 and No. 2 for four weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, and in the United Kingdom the single reached No. 21. The song finished at No. 53 in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In 2008, the single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
“Band of Gold” is a was written and composed by former Motown producers Holland-Dozier-Holland and Ron Dunbar. It was a major hit when first recorded by Freda Payne in 1970 for the Invictus label, owned by H-D-H. The legendary songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland used the name Edythe Wayne because of a lawsuit in which they were embroiled with Motown. Ron Dunbar was a staff employee and producer for Invictus. When they first offered the song to Freda Payne, she balked at the idea of recording it, finding the material more appropriate for a teenager or very young woman while she was nearly 30 years old. Payne reluctantly gave in after much persuasion by Dunbar. Almost immediately following its release, the Payne record became an instant pop smash, reaching number three in the US and number one on the Uk Singles chart and remaining there for six weeks in September 1970, giving Payne her first gold record.
“Golden Slumbers” is a song by the Beatles from their 1969 album Abbey Road. Written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon-McCartney,] it is the sixth song of the album’s climatic B-side medley. The song is followed by “Carry That Weight” and begins the progression that leads to the end of the album. The two songs were recorded together as a single piece, and both contain strings and brass arranged and scored by producer George Martin. “Golden Slumbers” is based on the poem “Cradle Song”, a lullaby by the dramatist Thomas Dekker. McCartney saw sheet music for “Cradle Song” at his father’s home in Liverpool, left on a piano by his stepsister Ruth. Unable to read music, he created his own music. McCartney uses the first stanza of the original poem, with minor word changes, adding to it a single lyric line repeated with minor variation.
“Heart of Gold” is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young. Released from the 1972 album Harvest, it is so far Young’s only U.S. No. 1 single. In Canada, it reached No. 1 on the RPM national singles chart for the first time in April 1972, on which date Young held the top spot on both the singles and albums charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 17 song for 1972. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 297 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and No. 303 in an updated 2010 list. The song, which features backup vocals by James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt, is one of a series of soft acoustic pieces which were written partly as a result of a back injury. Unable to stand for long periods of time, Young could not play his electric guitar and so returned to his acoustic guitar, which he could play sitting down. He also played his harmonica during the three instrumental portions, including the introduction to the song.
“After the Gold Rush” is a song written and performed by Neil Young and is the title song from his 1970 album of the same name. In addition to After the Gold Rush, it also appears on the compilation albums Decade and Greatest Hits, and on Live Rust. Perhaps best known is the 1974 interpretation by the group Prelude, whose a capella version was a top 40 hit all over the globe, especially the UK where it re-charted in the Top 40 in 1982. The song also peaked in Australia at number 51 in 1974, and the re-recording at 98 in 1982. In the US, it went to number 22 on the Billboard.
“Golden Years” is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. It was released in November 1975 as the lead single of his tenth studio album Station to Station (1976). It was recorded in September 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. It was the first track completed during the sessions, a period when Bowie’s cocaine addiction was at its peak. At one stage it was slated to be the album’s title track. Musically, “Golden Years” is a funk and disco song that is more reminiscent of the music on his previous album than the rest of its parent album. The song was a commercial success, peaking at No. 8 in the UK and No. 10 in the US.
“Gold Dust Woman” is a song from the best-selling Fleetwood Mac album Rumours (1977). The song was written and sung by Stevie Nicks and released as a B-side to the “Don’t Stop” single (in the UK) and the “You Make Loving Fun” single (in the US). The take chosen for release was reportedly recorded at 4 a.m., after a long night of attempts in the studio. Just before and during the final take, Stevie Nicks had wrapped her head (though not mouth) with a black scarf, veiling her senses to tap memories and emotions. Many unusual instruments were used in the recording, including an electric harpsichord with a jet phaser, which was marked with tape so Mick Fleetwood could play the right notes. The song’s title, “Gold Dust Woman”, comes from Gold Dust Lane, a street in Wickenburg, Arizona where Nicks spent time as a child.
“Gold” is a 1983 single by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, taken from their third album True. Gary Kemp wrote both the music and lyrics; the song was produced by the partnership of Steve Jolley and Tony Swain. The song is Spandau Ballet’s second-highest charting single in both the United Kingdom and the United States, behind their previous release, “True”, reaching #2 on the Uk Singles Chart, and reaching #29 on the U.S. Bilboard chart.
“Fields of Gold” is a song written and recorded by Sting. It first appeared on his fourth studio album, Ten Summoner’s Tales (1993). The song was released as a single on 7 June 1993 but reached only No. 16 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 23 on the US Billboard. However, the song did reach the top 10 in Canada and Iceland and became one of Sting’s most famous songs. Many musical artists have covered the song. American guitarist Eva Cassidy recorded a version that first appeared on her 1996 live album Live at Blues Alley, then later on her albums Songbird (1998). I have chosen to share a version by my great friend and musician Rachel Croft, recorded live on the streets of York.
