Legendary Pop Songwriter Billy Steinberg Dead At 74

Billy Steinberg, a pop songwriter behind a startling number of classic hits, has passed away. Steinberg helped write huge hits for artists like Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, the Bangles, Whitney Houston, Heart, and the Pretenders, and he was still penning big songs into the 21st century. Billboard reports that Steinberg died today after a battle with cancer. He was 74.

William Endfield Steinberg was born in Fresno, California, and he grew up there and in Palm Springs. He went to college at Bard and then fronted a band called Billy Thermal. The group never found success, but Linda Ronstadt had a top-10 hit when she covered their song “How Do I Make You” in 1980. Steinberg wrote that song, and he quickly hooked up with Tom Kelly, the man who would become his longtime songwriting partner. Steinberg would write the lyrics, and Kelly would write the music. Together, they also recorded as a duo called i-10, but they made a much bigger impact with the songs that they wrote for other artists.

Steinberg and Kelly wrote “Like A Virgin,” which became Madonna’s first #1 hit in 1984. Heart’s cover of i-Ten’s power ballad “Alone” reached #1 in 1987. The duo also Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” and Whitney Houson’s “So Emotional,” two more chart-toppers, and they co-wrote another one, “Eternal Flame,” with Bangles frontwoman Susanna Hoffs. That’s just the #1 hits! Steinberg and Kelly’s gifts for grand, emotive pop anthems extended beyond those songs. Other Steinberg/Kelly hits include Pat Benatar’s “Sex As A Weapon,” the Bangles’ “In Your Room,” Lauper’s “I Drove All Night,” Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself,” and the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You.”

Tom Kelly stepped away from songwriting in the ’90s, but Steinberg kept working. He found a new writing partner in Rick Nowels, and they co-wrote Céline Dion’s 1996 smash “Falling Into You.” In the ’00s, Steinberg and producer Josh Alexander co-wrote big songs like JoJo’s “Too Little Too Late,” t.A.T.u.’s “All About Us,” and the Veronicas’ “When It All Falls Apart.” That’s a hell of a catalog, and it truly spans pop eras. Steinberg and Kelly were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame together in 2011.

“Very sad to hear of the passing of my dear friend Billy Steinberg,” the Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde writes. “Billy and I, along with his songwriting partner Tom Kelly, enjoyed hours of mirth writing songs together in LA and London. It was with Billy and Tom that I learned to collaborate with other songwriters…. and we wrote some crackers, including I’ll Stand By You. Billy, a gentle soul and great talent will be greatly missed.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that my friend Billy Steinberg has passed away,” Lauper shares. “He was such a nice guy and very supportive. My thoughts are with his family, loved ones, and Tom during this sad time.”

Revisit Steinberg’s chart-toppers below.