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This was the first hit song Billy Steinberg wrote. He went on to write 5 US #1 hits, including "Eternal Flame," "Like A Virgin" and "True Colors." He explains how Rondstadt came to record the song: "The band I had at that time was called Billy Thermal. And Billy, of course, is my name, and Thermal is a little town in the Coachella Valley where my dad had a vineyard. So I worked on that farm of his at that time. So I decided to call my band Billy Thermal. And that was the band that was signed to Planet Records with Richard Perry. The guitar player in the band was a guy from Florida who was living in L.A., his name was Craig Hull. And Craig's girlfriend at that time was a pretty well-known songwriter named Wendy Waldman. And Wendy would sometimes tour with Linda Ronstadt as a background vocalist. So without asking my permission or anything, Wendy and Craig played the Billy Thermal demos for Linda Ronstadt, and Linda liked the song 'How Do I Make You.'"
Steinberg: "I remember, the song 'My Sharona' came out by The Knack, and I thought it was just like ear candy. It was just really exciting. So I think my song, 'How Do I Make You' was a little bit influenced by 'My Sharona.'" (Thanks to Billy for speaking with us about this song. Read his full interview in the Songfacts Interviews.)
More songs written by Billy Steinberg
Comments:
This was Linda's attempt of being a new wave rocker, rather than a ballad singer.
- Ken, Louisville, KY