Friday, June 12, 2026

RIP Billy Steinberg, Hit Songwriter of “Like a Virgin,” “So Emotional,” “Eternal Flame,” “True Colors,” “I Drove All Night”

Share

★ Make Showbiz411 your Preferred Source on Google

Very sad. Hit songwriter Billy Steinberg has died at age 75.

Among the hits he wrote — some with partner Tom Kelly — were Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional,” Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” and “I Drove All Night,” two big Bangles songs including “Eternal Flame,” and “I’ll Stand by You,” with Chrissie Hynde.

They were all huge hits, and mainly crafted for and with female singers. In 2011, I was part of the Songwriters Hall of Fame committee that made sure he and Tom Kelly were inducted. Madonna didn’t show up for the ceremony, but their “Like a Virgin” helped put her on the map.

By the way, “I Drove All Night” was a hit first for Roy Orbison, then again for Cyndi Lauper.

Condolences to his family and friends. He leaves quite a legacy.

Donate to Showbiz411.com

Showbiz411 is now in its 13th year of providing breaking and exclusive entertainment news. This is an independent site, unlike the many Hollywood trades that are owned by one company. To continue providing news that takes a fresh look at what's going on in movies, music, theater, etc, advertising is our basis. Reader donations would be greatly appreciated, too. They are just another facet of keeping fact based journalism alive.
Thank you


Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009, where he covered Michael Jackson, and previously wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine in the mid-1990s, where he covered the O.J. Simpson trial. He also edited Fame magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

Read more

In Other News