{"id":58267,"date":"2026-02-17T15:39:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/billy-steinberg-songwriter-of-madonnas-like-a-virgin-dead-at-75\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T15:39:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:39:49","slug":"billy-steinberg-songwriter-of-madonnas-like-a-virgin-dead-at-75","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/billy-steinberg-songwriter-of-madonnas-like-a-virgin-dead-at-75\/","title":{"rendered":"Billy Steinberg, Songwriter of Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin,’ Dead at 75"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\tBilly Steinberg, the accomplished singer-songwriter who dominated the Eighties and Nineties with hits for Madonna<\/a>, Whitney Houston, Cyndi Lauper<\/a>, and more, has died, the BBC<\/a> reports. He was 75.<\/p>\n

\n\tSteinberg died in Los Angeles after a battle with cancer, his lawyer confirmed, though no further details were given. In a statement, Steinberg\u2019s family called him a \u201cvisionary lyricist, devoted husband, loving father, and one of the most influential songwriters of his era.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThey continued: \u201c[H]is lyrics often began as deeply personal reflections, transformed into anthems in which millions found themselves. Billy Steinberg\u2019s life was a testament to the enduring power of a well-written song \u2014 and to the idea that honesty, when set to music, can outlive us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOften working alongside Tom Kelly, who handled the music, Steinberg penned the lyrics to an array of Eighties and Nineties classics, five of which went to Number One on the Billboard <\/em>Hot 100: Madonna\u2019s \u201cLike a Virgin,\u201d<\/a> Lauper\u2019s \u201cTrue Colors,\u201d<\/a> Houston\u2019s \u201cSo Emotional,\u201d<\/a> the Bangles\u2019 \u201cEternal Flame,\u201d<\/a> and Heart\u2019s \u201cAlone.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m so sorry to hear that my friend Billy Steinberg has passed away,\u201d Lauper wrote<\/a> on Instagram. \u201cHe was such a nice guy and very supportive. My thoughts are with his family, loved ones, and Tom during this sad time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Kelly retired in the Nineties, Steinberg continued to find success, writing for established stars like Celine Dion and Linda Ronstadt, as well as a new generation of pop artists, including Demi Lovato, Jojo, and Nicole Scherzinger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBefore becoming a professional songwriter, Steinberg spent the late Seventies and early Eighties fronting a new wave band, Billy Thermal. The group recorded an album that was never released, but their demos did reach Ronstadt, who recorded the song \u201cHow Do I Make You\u201d for her 1980 album, Mad Love<\/em>. It peaked at Number 10 on the Hot 100.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe following year, Steinberg and Kelly linked up. They formed the band i-Ten and released a debut album, Taking a Cold Look<\/em>, in 1983. While the album failed to make an impact, it did contain the first version of Steinberg and Kelly\u2019s \u201cAlone,\u201d which Heart would turn into a hit four years later.<\/p>\n

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\n\tSteinberg and Kelly\u2019s breakthrough as songwriters came soon after, when Madonna released \u201cLike a Virgin\u201d in 1984. In an interview on his website<\/a>, Steinberg recalled jotting down some initial lyrics while driving around the Southern California vineyard his father owned. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt that time I was very happy to be involved in a new relationship with a woman I had met and I was relieved to have extricated myself from a very difficult relationship and I think that inspired the lyrics,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cI was aware that I was writing a song lyric when I wrote, \u2018Like a virgin.\u2019 I remember there was a little spark when I put that down. I said to myself, \u2018That\u2019s a good hook!\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile a few artists passed on \u201cLike a Virgin,\u201d the pair eventually played it for Michael Ostin, a top A&R rep at Warner Records, who thought it would be a great song for Madonna. Steinberg was thrilled and recalled, \u201cI even think we started scheming about it right there on the spot and I really think I said to him right then and there, she could sing it wearing a wedding dress.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLike a Virgin\u201d kicked off a dominant run for Steinberg and Kelly. Along with the four other aforementioned Number Ones, the pair scored hits with the Divinyls (\u201cI Touch Myself\u201d), the Pretenders (\u201cI\u2019ll Stand By You\u201d), and Tina Turner (\u201cLook Me in the Heart\u201d). Their song \u201cI Drove All Night,\u201d originally written for Roy Orbison, became a Top 10 hit for Lauper in 1989; Orbison eventually recorded it, too, and it went to Number Seven on the U.K. singles chart in 1992; then, in 2003, Celine Dion cut a version, which enjoyed significant success around the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\tAfter Kelly\u2019s retirement, Steinberg started working with an assortment of other songwriters. With Rick Nowels, he co-wrote songs like Melanie C\u2019s \u201cI Turn To You\u201d and Dion\u2019s \u201cFalling Into You.\u201d (The latter helped secure Steinberg his only Grammy when Dion\u2019s accompanying album, Falling Into You,<\/em> took home Album of the Year in 1997.) His closest collaborator after Kelly became producer Josh Alexander, with whom Steinberg wrote several new millennium pop hits: Jojo\u2019s \u201cToo Little Too Late,\u201d the Veronicas\u2019 \u201cWhen It All Falls Apart,\u201d t.A.T.u.\u2019s \u201cAll About Us,\u201d and Lovato\u2019s \u201cGive Your Heart a Break.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSteinberg was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n