“The idea for that song came from personal experience,” Billy Steinberg said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, as chronicled in Fred Bronson’s The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, about Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”
“I wasn’t just trying to somehow get that racy word virgin in a lyric,” mused Steinberg, who co-authored the song with longtime writing partner Tom Kelly. “I was saying that I may not really be a virgin — I’ve been battered romantically and emotionally like many people — but I’m starting a new relationship and it just feels so good it’s healing all the wounds and making me feel like I’ve never done this before, because it’s so much deeper and more profound than anything I’ve ever felt.”
The song ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks in 1984-85 and ranks as Madonna’s biggest career hit.
Steinberg’s compositions became mainstays in the Hot 100’s top 40 from the 1980s to the 2010s, recorded by acts also including the Bangles, Heart, JoJo, Cyndi Lauper and Demi Lovato, whose “Give Your Heart a Break,” which Steinberg co-wrote with Josh Alexander, also hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart in 2012.
In honor of Steinberg, who, as announced Feb. 16, died in Los Angeles at age 74, here is a recap of his 15 biggest Hot 100 hits — including five No. 1s — as a songwriter, all enduring top 40 titles and, notably, all sung by women artists.
As for “Like a Virgin,” after it was written, Bronson noted that Michael Ostin, then of Warner Brothers Records’ A&R department, played it for Madonna, after hearing Kelly and Steinberg’s demo, and she “went crazy, and immediately knew it was a song for her and that she could make a great record out of it.”
Songwriter Billy Steinberg’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits chart is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, through the Feb. 14, 2026 ranking. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.
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“Lucky Love,” Ace of Base
Co-written with Jonas Berggren
Hot 100 peak position: No. 30
Hot 100 peak date: April 13, 1996 -
“Over It,” Katharine McPhee
Co-written with Josh Alexander, Ruth-Anne Cunningham
Hot 100 peak position: No. 29
Hot 100 peak date: April 7, 2007 -
“My Side of the Bed,” Susanna Hoffs
Co-written with Susanna Hoffs, Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 30
Hot 100 peak date: March 23, 1991 -
“Give Your Heart a Break,” Demi Lovato
Co-written with Josh Alexander
Hot 100 peak position: No. 16
Hot 100 peak date: Aug. 25, 2012 -
“I’ll Stand by You,” Pretenders
Co-written with Chrissie Hynde, Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 16
Hot 100 peak date: Dec. 3, 1994 -
“How Do I Make You,” Linda Ronstadt
Hot 100 peak position: No. 10
Hot 100 peak date: March 22, 1980 -
“I Drove All Night,” Cyndi Lauper
Co-written with Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 6
Hot 100 peak date: July 8, 1989 -
“Too Little Too Late,” JoJo
Co-written with Josh Alexander, Ruth-Anne Cunningham
Hot 100 peak position: No. 3
Hot 100 peak date: Sept. 30, 2006 -
“In Your Room,” Bangles
Co-written with Susanna Hoffs, Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 5
Hot 100 peak date: Jan. 7, 1989 -
“I Touch Myself,” Divinyls
Co-written with Christine Amphlett, Mark McEntee, Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 4
Hot 100 peak date: May 18, 1991 -
“Eternal Flame,” Bangles
Co-written with Susanna Hoffs, Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 1 (one week)
Hot 100 peak date: April 1, 1989 -
“True Colors,” Cyndi Lauper
Co-written with Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 1 (two weeks)
Hot 100 peak date: Oct. 25, 1986 -
“So Emotional,” Whitney Houston
Co-written with Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 1 (one week)
Hot 100 peak date: Jan. 9, 1988 -
“Alone,” Heart
Co-written with Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)
Hot 100 peak date: July 11, 1987 -
“Like a Virgin,” Madonna
Co-written with Tom Kelly
Hot 100 peak position: No. 1 (six weeks)
Hot 100 peak date: Dec. 22, 1984
