Billy Steinberg has been among the most successful songwriters of the past 35 years, co-writing (with Tom Kelly) five #1 singles on Billboard’s “Hot 100” chart, including Like A Virgin (Madonna), True Colors (Cyndi Lauper), So Emotional (Whitney Houston), Eternal Flame (The Bangles) and Alone (Heart).
Additionally, Billy co-wrote other well-known Top 10 U.S. pop hits, including I’ll Stand By You (Pretenders, Carrie Underwood), I Touch Myself (Divinyls), How Do I Make You (Linda Ronstadt), I Drove All Night (Roy Orbison, Cyndi Lauper, Celine Dion), In Your Room (The Bangles), Too Little Too Late (JoJo) and Give Your Heart A Break (Demi Lovato).
Many of Billy’s songs are enduring classics. Like A Virgin was honored by Rolling Stone and MTV as the #4 song on their list of the “100 Greatest Pop Songs.” True Colors has been recorded by many significant artists including Phil Collins, Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick, Kasey Chambers, and Eva Cassidy. Celine Dion scored hits with covers of I Drove All Night and Alone. Billy’s songs have been staples for singers on American Idol, The Voice and Glee.
biography
Billy grew up in Palm Springs, California, and attended Bard College in upstate New York. After college, he pursued a career as a recording artist and songwriter while also working in his family’s table grape business.
Billy Steinberg and Leslie Kean at Bard College around 1970.
His band, Billy Thermal (Thermal was the town where the vineyard business was located), was signed to legendary producer Richard Perry’s Planet Records in 1979. The band’s guitarist played Billy Thermal’s demos for Linda Ronstadt, and she decided to record Billy’s song, How Do I Make You, for her “Mad Love” album in 1980. It was the only single on that album to reach top 10 Billboard status and helped launch Billy’s career as a promising songwriter.
The unreleased 1980 Billy Thermal album can be purchased here.
Tom Kelly
In 1981, Billy began a momentous collaboration with Tom Kelly, a successful session vocalist and songwriter. The duo developed a strong songwriting chemistry and subsequently formed the band i-TEN, which was released on Epic Records. This marked the beginning of a longtime writing partnership, which resulted in some of the most memorable hits of the 80s and 90s.
Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly – 1985, photo by Glen Wexler
like a virgin
A career breakthrough occurred for Steinberg and Kelly in 1984 when Madonna recorded their song “Like A Virgin,” which became the title of her second album. The song reached #1 on Billboard in December, 1984, and stayed there for six weeks.
”Like A Virgin” remains Madonna’s signature song and biggest chart single to date. “Like A Virgin” was famously discussed in the opening scene of Tarantino’s 1992 film, Reservoir Dogs. Also, in 2001, “Like A Virgin” was featured in a riotous scene in the innovative movie musical “Moulin Rouge.”
Interview with MadonnaTribe
The story behind “Like A Virgin”
Little known details on writing “Like A Virgin”
Following the success of Like A Virgin, Steinberg and Kelly enjoyed a flurry of hit activity. Cyndi Lauper had a #1 record with True Colors, which was the title cut of her second album, and followed this success with Steinberg and Kelly’s I Drove All Night on her next album. The duo subsequently topped the charts with Heart’s recording of Alone, followed by another #1 hit, So Emotional, recorded by Whitney Houston.
Collaborations
In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Steinberg and Kelly established successful collaborations with Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles, and Chrissy Amphlett and Mark McEntee of the Divinyls. The team of Steinberg, Kelly and Hoffs wrote many songs together, including the classic Bangles’ hits, Eternal Flame and In Your Room. Steinberg, Kelly and Hoffs also wrote My Side Of The Bed, which was the first single (and Top 40 hit) from Hoffs’ solo debut album in 1991. The teaming of Steinberg and Kelly with the Divinyls led to several cuts, including the group’s provocative Top 10 hit, I Touch Myself, in 1991.
Billy Steinberg, Susanna Hoffs, Tom Kelly - 1989, photo by Bill Rubenstein
In 1993, Steinberg and Kelly began another high-profile collaboration, writing numerous songs with Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. The trio wrote six songs for the group’s “Last Of The Independents” album in 1994, which included the classic, I’ll Stand By You, and the single, Night In My Veins.
Rick Nowels
In the mid-’90s, Steinberg teamed up with writer/producer Rick Nowels. Steinberg and Nowels wrote and produced for an array of top artists. The duo won Grammy Awards for producing their song and title cut, Falling Into You, from Celine Dion’s multi-platinum, 1996 album. “Falling Into You” and other Steinberg and Nowels compositions were co-written with the talented writer and singer, Marie Claire D’Ubaldo. Steinberg and Nowels also wrote and produced other notable cuts including the #1 dance hit and Top 40 pop hit in 2000, Amber’s Sexual (Li Da Di), and international #1 hit singles for Melanie C. (I Turn To You, 2000) and Robert Miles (One And One, 1996). Sinead O’Connor recorded a beautiful Steinberg/Nowels song, Tears From The Moon.
Billy Steinberg and Josh Alexander - 2006, photo by Art Streiber
Josh Alexander
Since 2004, Billy has worked with songwriting partner Josh Alexander. They wrote and produced songs released by a variety of recording artists, including JoJo’s Top 5 Billboard Hit, Too Little Too Late, Demi Lovato’s #1 radio hit, Give Your Heart A Break, and Nicole Scherzinger’s #1 UK hit, Don’t Hold Your Breath. Steinberg and Alexander have written numerous songs with remarkable recording artist, LP.
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