Jon (on the right) with Sean Combs, Jay-Z, and Clarence Avant, one of Platt's mentor figures. He credits his “DJ instincts” for his talent for breaking records like “Waterfalls” as well as his role behind the making of the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys smash single, “Empire State of Mind.” In 1995, he got a low-rung job in EMI’s A&R department and quickly struck gold by signing Marqueze Etheridge, co-writer of the TLC’s smash, “Waterfalls,” one of the year’s – and the decade’s – mega hits.
Inspired by Chuck D's words, Jon began managing some songwriters and producers in Los Angeles. “My music dream started the next day from that day,” Jon reveals in our conversation. He got to talking with Public Enemy’s front-man, Chuck D, who told Jon not to settle for just being a DJ. Jon's next life-changing moment came when Jon was MC’ing a Public Enemy/Ice Cube concert. While working in a sporting goods store, he befriended a local DJ named Thomas Edwards, who showed Jon the deejaying basics and he soon became a popular club DJ. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Oakland, Jon was a high school student in Denver when he took his first step into the music industry. Jon took a quite unusual path to becoming one of the most powerful and influential (music) publishers of the past 25 years," according to Variety. Our special guest is Jon Platt, the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Publishing – a man Jay-Z proclaimed as the “the Obama of the music industry.” Welcome to Episode 9, Season 2 of Song Chronicles. They have also written numerous songs with the artist LP, whom Steinberg calls "a female Roy Orbison."Įnjoy this interview with Billy Steinberg on what makes songs that stand the test of time. We also talk about how the Brill Building Era inspired him to become a songwriter.īilly has gone on to write with many other songwriters, including frequent collaborator Josh Alexander with whom he co-write "Give Your Heart a Break" by Demi Lovato and "Too Little Too Late" by Jojo. Steinberg’s lyrics resonate throughout the years because their themes are universal - which is different from being general or bland, as we discuss. You’ll hear Billy’s personal story behind the lyrics to "Like A Virgin" and what it meant for him to hear the song sung by an Italian nun, directed at God.īilly Steinberg, Tom Kelly, and Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, 1992. Their breakout hit was "Like A Virgin," the title track of Madonna’s second album. Billy shares how he and Tom found their groove as co-writers and how they always tried to write to make themselves happy rather than customizing songs for potential artists. In 1981, Steinberg began a momentous collaboration with songwriter Tom Kelly, with whom he wrote many memorable hits of the 80s and 90s. In our conversation, Billy shares how he found out Rondstadt would record the song which later reached the Billboard Top 10. The duo also co-wrote "I’ll Stand By You" with Chrissie Hynde and "I Touch Myself" with Christine Amphlett and Mark McEntee of The Divinyls.īilly Steinberg and Cyndi Lauper in Finland, 1988.īilly’s first hit song was "How Do I Make You," which Linda Ronstadt decided to record after hearing demos from Steinberg’s band Billy Thermal. Our special guest is Songwriter Hall of Fame member Billy Steinberg, who with collaborator Tom Kelly wrote many Number 1 hits including "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper, "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston, "Alone" by Heart, and "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles. Welcome to Season 2, Episode 10 of Song Chronicles.