‘Like a Virgin’ Lyricist Billy Steinberg Passes Away at 75 — Leaving a Serious 80s Hit-List In His Wake

Photo Credit: Billy Steinberg (billysteinberg.com)

Grammy-winning songwriter Billy Steinberg, regarded as one of the most successful songwriters of the ‘80s and ‘90s, passed away on Monday. He was 75.

Songwriters Hall of Famer Billy Steinberg, widely considered one of the most successful songwriters of the ‘80s and ‘90s, passed away on Monday in California after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.

Alongside writing partner Tom Kelly, Steinberg wrote a slew of classics throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” Lauper and Roy Orbison’s “I Drove All Night,” The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You,” Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional,” and The Bangles’ “Eternal Flame.” His breakthrough hit was Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” which was also the singer’s first U.S. #1 single.

Steinberg’s family described him as a “visionary lyricist, devoted husband, loving father, and one of the most influential songwriters of his era.” They added, “His lyrics often began as deeply personal reflections, transformed into anthems in which millions found themselves.”

“I had been in a difficult relationship. It was difficult to free myself from it. I managed to do that, and I met somebody new, and I was elated about that, so I started to write the story of it,” said Steinberg of “Like a Virgin.”

After trying to work the lyrics in various fashions with Kelly—first as a ballad, then a Michael Jackson-esque Motown track—the record companies they offered it to were less than enthusiastic.

“Some people even asked us to change the title,” he said. “I knew that compared to most mainstream pop lyrics, the title and theme might seem a bit jolting and risque. But I liked the idea of writing a lyric concept which hadn’t quite been done before.”

The pair refused to change the title and finally played their demo for Warner Bros. Records senior vice president Michael Ostin. Ostin loved the song and immediately thought of an up-and-coming singer signed to the label for whom it would make a perfect match. However, Madonna initially wasn’t as keen, saying she thought the demo sounded “really stupid.”

“It’s weird because I couldn’t get it out of my head after I played it, even though I didn’t really like it,” she said. “It sounded really bubble-gummy to me, but it grew on me. I really started to like it; my little gears started clicking, and I thought, ‘This could be really cool.’”

Madonna’s recording, produced by Nile Rodgers, sold over 2 million copies and spent six weeks at #1 in the U.S. in 1984.

Steinberg was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011, where he was described as one of the “most successful songwriters,” whose songs have become “enduring classics.”