Cyndi Lauper has led tributes to legendary songwriter, Billy Steinberg.
On Monday, a family representative announced that Steinberg had died at his home in Brentwood, California following a battle with cancer. He was 75.
Following the sad news, Lauper took to Instagram to post a throwback photo of herself and Steinberg, who co-wrote her hit 1986 track, True Colors, alongside his longtime songwriting partner, Tom Kelly.
“I’m so sorry to hear that my friend Billy Steinberg has passed away,” she wrote in the caption. “He was such a nice guy and very supportive. My thoughts are with his family, loved ones, and Tom during this sad time.”
Additionally, Steinberg and Kelly co-wrote I Drove All Night, which Lauper released as a single for her 1989 album, A Night to Remember. The track was recorded by Roy Orbison and covered by Céline Dion as well.
And in a statement to Billboard, Lauper described Steinberg as “pure genius”.
“For True Colors, there was a lot of back and forth, which I know was hard for him… In the end, he said that I had really invented my own ‘very exquisitely beautiful version’ of the song. That really meant a lot to me. It is a special song,” the 72-year-old continued.
Over the course of his career, Steinberg also co-wrote pop classics such as Madonna’s Like A Virgin, the Bangles’ Eternal Flame, Whitney Houston’s So Emotional, The Divinyls’ I Touch Myself, and I’ll Stand by You by The Pretenders.
And after Kelly retired in the ’90s, Steinberg collaborated with many other songwriters.
Alongside Josh Alexander and Ruth-Anne Cunningham, he penned Too Little Too Late for singer JoJo for her 2006 album The High Road, and 2007’s Over It for Katharine McPhee.
Steinberg and Kelly were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
The California native is survived by his wife, Trina, sons Ezra and Max, and his stepchildren, Raul and Carolina.
