In Gay City News’ February 25 to March 10 issue, Matt Tracy reported that openly gay, Jewish singer-songwriter Ari Gold (“Where the Music Takes You,” “Turn Out the Night”) died of leukemia on February 14 at age 47.
My memories of Ari Gold include hearing him sing at Night of a Thousand Gowns (NOATG), the annual gala benefit by the Imperial Court of New York, where he was billed as Sir Ari Gold, on March 12, 2016, and Rabbi Hara Person inviting me to join Ari and Mark Aaron James in leading Fire Island Pines Congregation B’Nai Olam in singing “Avenu Malkeinu,” during High Holiday services one year.
Of his performance at NOATG, Sherri Rase wrote in these pages, “Singer Sir Ari Gold kicked off Act II in high style in a net frock coat that could have come from Emperor XX Vanity Society’s tailor … it left very little of Sir Ari to the imagination. Where should we look, the jumbo-tron screens? Ari and his singer/dancers? The answer is yes, and yes, and YES! “Turn Out the Night” has a conceptual video that spurs fantasy and coupled with the live performance–brilliant!”