Billy Steinberg, writer of Madonna's “Like A Virgin”, Cyndi Lauper's “True Colors” and many other hits, has died

Billy Steinberg, celebrated pop songwriter — from “Like a Virgin” to “I Drove All Night” — died on February 16 at the age of 74, after a long illness. Speaking to the BBC, his family recalled how many of his lyrics grew out of intimate personal reflections, later transformed into songs able to speak to an enormous audience. “Billy Steinberg's life was a testament to the enduring power of a well-written song — and to the idea that honesty, once set to music, can outlive us all,” read the statement released to the press.

Over more than forty years of activity, Steinberg penned some of the most iconic hits in international pop. Together with Tom Kelly he wrote "Like a Virgin" for Madonna, "True Colors" for Cyndi Lauper, "Eternal Flame" for the Bangles, "So Emotional" for Whitney Houston, "I'll Stand by You" for the Pretenders, and "I Drove All Night", taken to success by Roy Orbison and Lauper herself. A catalogue that defined an era, helping shape the sound of radio in those years.

Among his many accolades, Steinberg won a Grammy Award for his contribution to Céline Dion's 1996 album “Falling Into You”. His partnership with Kelly, begun in 1981, proved central to his career, and in 2011 the pair were inducted together into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Before establishing himself as a go-to writer for leading performers, Steinberg had started out as a singer-songwriter and frontman of the Californian band Billy Thermal, later signed to Richard Perry's Planet Records. After Kelly's retirement in the mid-1990s, Steinberg continued writing with new collaborators, penning, among others, “Give Your Heart A Break” for Demi Lovato and “Too Little Too Late” for JoJo.

Over the years, his songs have also been recorded by Pat Benatar, Tina Turner, Laura Branigan, Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Melanie C, Susanna Hoffs, Belinda Carlisle, Bette Midler, Taylor Dayne, Nicole Scherzinger, Katharine McPhee, the Veronicas, t.A.T.u., the Corrs and Ashley Tisdale — proof of a body of work able to cross generations and styles alike.

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