A songwriter who helped craft giant music hits in the ’80s has died.
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Billy Steinberg, the singer-songwriter who worked with Madonna and other 1980s legends, has died, according to The Los Angeles Times. He was 74 the time of his passing, with legal representative Laurie Soriano saying the cause of death was cancer.
Steinberg served as either writer or co-writer on several iconic tracks, such as Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” and Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself.”
He also contributed cuts for legends including Whitney Houston (“So Emotional”), Tina Turner (“Look me in the Heart”), Linda Ronstadt (“How Do I Make You?”), Pat Benatar (“Precious Time” and “I’m Gonna Follow You”), The Bangles (“In Your Room”), Roy Orbison (“I Drove All Night”) and The Pretenders (“I’ll Stand By You”).
Steinberg is a Grammy winner due to the song “Falling into You” (co-written with Rick Nowels and Marie-Claire D’Ubaldo) appearing on Celine Dion’s 1996 album of the same name. The LP won Album of the Year at the 1997 ceremony.
Steinberg would go on to work with several actresses-turned-singers in the 2000s, including Demi Lovato, Ashley Tisdale and Miranda Cosgrove. His work with Lovato yielded the 2012 single “Give Your Heart a Break.”