October offers a timely reason to revisit one of Linda Ronstadt’s most intriguing career turns. In October 1980, the singer released Greatest Hits, Volume 2, a collection that included her Top 10 hit “How Do I Make You.” A song with an unlikely backstory, it involves an unreleased band demo and a songwriter who would go on to help define pop music for decades.
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Billy Steinberg, who later co-wrote hits such as Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” wrote the song, which began as a recording by his own band, Billy Thermal. Their album never came out as planned, and Steinberg didn’t even bring the demo to Ronstadt.
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Instead, a connection through a fellow musician helped put the song in front of the singer. And, as luck would have it, she liked the tune enough to record it.
Linda Ronstadt Heard the Song Through an Unexpected Connection
In the late 1970s, Steinberg was writing songs while working in his family’s grape-growing business in California’s Coachella Valley. Inspired by new wave artists like Blondie, The Cars, and Elvis Costello, he began writing more energetic rock songs and brought together musicians to record demos.
One of those songs was “How Do I Make You.” Steinberg and the musicians eventually formed a band called Billy Thermal, named after Thermal, California, where his family’s vineyard business was based.
Steinberg recalled in an interview with Songwriting Magazine that he and the band enjoyed making the demos, so he suggested they become a group. He was focused on getting his own music heard—not finding another artist to record it.
Then, an unexpected connection brought the song to Ronstadt.
Billy Thermal guitarist Craig Hull was dating singer Wendy Waldman, who sang background vocals for Ronstadt. Waldman and Hull played the band’s demos for Ronstadt without Steinberg arranging the introduction.
“Without telling me, Wendy and Craig played the Billy Thermal demos for Linda, and she loved the song, ‘How Do I Make You?’ and recorded it,” Steinberg recalled.
He added that it was “my very first cover.”
The Song Became a Top 10 Hit for Ronstadt
Ronstadt released “How Do I Make You” in 1980 on Mad Love, an album that found her embracing a harder-edged rock sound and elements of the new wave movement.
The single climbed to No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, introducing Steinberg’s songwriting to a much larger audience. The recording featured guitarist Mark Goldenberg, bassist Bob Glaub, drummer Russell Kunkel, keyboardist Bill Payne, and backing vocalist Nicolette Larson, among other musicians.
For Ronstadt, the song marked a musical shift that revealed another side of her voice. In a later interview with Rock Cellar Magazine, she explained that she had a personal connection to the track.
“I got to do something a little bit more original for myself with that one as opposed to just trying to copy someone else,” she said.
She also recalled that Waldman had introduced her to two emerging songwriters, Steinberg and Goldenberg, telling her, “I know these two great songwriters, you’ve got to hear them.”
The song’s success meant a lot to Steinberg. In his own account of his career, he recalled hearing it on a farm worker’s transistor radio while he was working in the vineyard.
“It was unforgettably exciting and surreal,” he wrote.
Billy Steinberg Went on to Write Some of Pop’s Biggest Hits
Although Steinberg initially hoped to become a recording artist, Ronstadt’s success with the song helped him build connections in the Los Angeles music business. However, Planet Records never released his band’s album, the label that had signed Billy Thermal.
Other artists also began recording his songs. Pat Benatar recorded two Billy Thermal songs, “I’m Gonna Follow You” and “Precious Time,” while Rick Nelson recorded another, “Don’t Look at Me.”
Steinberg eventually focused on songwriting and formed a highly successful partnership with Tom Kelly. Together, they wrote a string of enduring hits, including Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional,” the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame,” and Heart’s “Alone.”
Steinberg and Kelly were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011. Steinberg died in February 2026 at age 75.
Looking back, “How Do I Make You” marked an important early chapter in a career that would influence pop music for decades. Ronstadt didn’t write the song or set out to launch a new songwriter’s career. She heard a demo she liked and gave it a chance.
For Steinberg, that chance became his first Top 10 hit and a turning point that helped him move from the vineyard toward a future in music.
Related: In 1964, Vic Mizzy Agreed to Work on a TV Theme Song for Free. Two Snaps and One Macabre Family Later, He Made a Fortune
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