Billy Steinberg has died. The name may not mean much, but he is the co-writer of some of the biggest hits of the 80s and beyond, often performed by female singers. We go from Like a Virgin by Madonna a True Colors by Cyndi Lauper. Steinberg was 75 years old. He died in Los Angeles due to cancer.
He was what was once called a lyricist in Italy, the author of the lyrics of great hits, often paired with Tom Kelly who took care of the musical part. Not infrequently, other authors, including the interpreter, participated in the writing of the texts. Many of his verses, short and effective, almost slogans, have entered the history of pop. In addition to the aforementioned hits by Lauper and Madonna, the latter written after the end of a relationship, she achieved other number ones in the United States with Kelly such as Eternal Flame of the Bangles, So Emotional dWhitney Houston, I Drove All Night (Lauper and Roy Orbison), I Touch Myself of the Divinyls, I'll Stand by You of the Pretenders. The pair also wrote pieces such as Sex as a Weapon by Pat Benatar, Look Me in the Heart by Tina Turner, Spirit of Love by Laura Branigan, In Your Room more Bangles.
Pure American professionalism, ingenuity and sensitivity put at the service of pop and songs with almost sloganistic lyrics, he had also set up with Kelly a group called i-Ten (with a lowercase i, in the first half of the '80s, many years before Apple devices). Their highlight was Halothen brought to Heart's success in 1987. Obviously the band played first-class session men: Steve Lukather of Toto on guitar, Alan Pasqua on piano, Mike Baird on drums. Before that, he had formed a group called Billy Thermal. Thanks to them he had become known as an author in the world of American recording: a song he wrote for the band, How Do I Make Youwas then recorded by Linda Ronstadt in 1980, launching her career as an author.
After Kelly retired, Steinberg collaborated with other music writers including Rick Nowels with whom he wrote songs such as Falling into You then brought to success by Celine Dion, All About Us delle tATu, Give Your Herat a Break by Demi Lovato. In 2011 Steinberg and Kelly were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
«He gave me not only the love of music, but also the discipline, integrity and respect for the great art of composition, he believed in the need to build things that last», said his son Ezra, himself an author. «He was a great songwriter and collaborator», says Cyndi Lauper today, he and Tom had their own way of capturing the whole spectrum of emotions». He developed «an aesthetic of his own that allowed him to create an entire story with one or two sentences. It was one of a kind,” Nowels said. “He had an encyclopedic knowledge of popular song.”
