Billy Steinberg, Who Co-Wrote 'Like a Virgin' & 'True Colors,' Dies at 75
He earned five no. 1 hits in the '80s and '90s — and you've heard of all of them
February 16, 2026
Billy Steinberg, one half of the writing team (with Tom Kelly) who gave us some of the biggest hits of the ‘80s — including Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” (1984) and Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” (1986), both no. 1 smashes — died at 75 on Monday following a cancer battle.
Of “Like a Virgin,” which was the second biggest big of 1985, Steinberg said:
“In 1983, I wrote a lyric that was based on some trials in my personal life. The title was provocative: ‘Like a Virgin.’ Knowing what I had been through and reading these words, Tom’s instinct was to approach it as a ballad. But because of the title, the sincere ballad approach didn’t w ork. We tried on several occasions to write a song to my ‘Like a Virgin’ lyric. One day, out of frustration, Tom started playing a Motown-inspired bass line while singing the lyrics in falsetto. Immediately, I got excited and said, ‘That’s it!’”
Of Madonna’s version, he said:
“Her record ends with the exact same little ad-libs that our demo did, so Madonna must have listened to it very, very carefully and liked what we’d done. It rarely happens that someone studies your demo so carefully that they even use all those little details … We were sort of flattered in some ways how carefully she followed our demo.”
Their collaboration was legendary, also producing “Eternal Flame” by the Bangles (no. 1), “Alone” by Heart (no. 1), “So Emotional” by Whitney Houston (no. 1), “I Touch Myself” by the Divinyls, “I’ll Stand by You” by the Pretenders, “How Do I Make You” by Linda Ronstadt and also “I Drove All Night,” covered by both Roy Orbison and Cyndi Lauper.
The two were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
On his own or with others, Steinberg also wrote for Pat Benatar, Belinda Carlisle, Céline Dion, JoJo, the Veronicas, Nicole Scherzinger and Demi Lovato.
I cherish a special CD of Steinberg & Kelly’s demos which you can hear Tom singing.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, two stepchildren and two sisters. ⚡️
What a great song writer I noticed you have a CD that you’re fond of and wonder if I might interest you or any Madonna fan in the cassettes you have helped me with. Thanks again Matthew!