Madonna Honors Late Producer William Orbit, Dead at 69
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- Madonna published an Instagram tribute to William Orbit after his death at 69, writing that meeting him was an "epiphany" and that his music gave her "a magic carpet to fly on," alongside footage from the "Ray of Light" video and their 1999 Grammy acceptance
- William Orbit, who produced Madonna's multiplatinum 1998 album Ray of Light, died July 23 at age 69, with his family announcing the death this week
- Orbit won the Grammy for Best Pop Album in 1999 for Ray of Light and also produced for U2, Britney Spears, No Doubt, and Blur
- Madonna credited Orbit with pushing her to sing in new ways and write songs like "Drowned World" and "Swim," saying the studio "was often church like" as she waited for his ideas to emerge
- Madonna tied Orbit's influence to the birth of her daughter Lola, writing that both marked a "new chapter" as she "was choosing another road to walk down"
Why it matters: William Orbit's death at 69 closes a chapter on one of the most creatively fertile partnerships in Madonna's career — the 1998 Ray of Light era, which earned a Best Pop Album Grammy and reshaped her sound. The tribute underscores how Orbit, who also worked with U2, Britney Spears, No Doubt, and Blur, left a fingerprint on late-90s pop that survives in the catalog long after the chart run.
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