Madonna Pens Emotional William Orbit Tribute: “You Were My Ray of Light”

Madonna has paid an emotional tribute to William Orbit, the pioneering producer whose work with the Queen of Pop helped birth one of the most celebrated chapters of her career.

Taking to social media following news of Orbit’s death at age 69, the superstar reflected on the creative freedom she found with her longtime collaborator and poignantly declared: “In many ways you were my Ray of Light.”

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Madonna Remembers William Orbit & Their ‘Ray of Light’ Era

As reported, Orbit’s family announced on August 7 that the revered producer had died at home on July 23. A cause of death was not disclosed.

The Queen of Pop, who created much of her landmark 1998 album ‘Ray of Light’ with Orbit, has now shared a deeply personal remembrance of their time together.

She wrote:

“Goodbye- William Orbit.
I had an epiphany when I met you and started working with you. I realized that music did not have to fit into categories or genres. So we created our own.

You pressed a magic button inside of me and I fell into a galaxy of unrealized dreams. Your music gave me a magic carpet to fly on and I visited many places. Sad and Joyful

I sang in ways I’d never sung before.
I used words without caring if they made sense or not.”

The pair’s creative union would prove transformative. Orbit’s atmospheric Electronic production provided the sonic backdrop for ‘Frozen’, ‘Drowned World/Substitute for Love,’ ‘Swim,’ the album’s title track, and more.

The project became both a critical and commercial force, selling more than 16 million copies worldwide and ushering in an acclaimed reinvention for the diva. It also saw Orbit score GRAMMY wins for his work on the LP.

Reflecting on the personal changes taking place at the time, Madonna continued:

“In many ways you were my Ray of Light -as was my daughter Lola who was born around this time-
I was starting a new chapter,
I was choosing another road to walk down-and you were right by my side with your crooked teeth and your genius, way of hearing music.

The studio was often church like and I would sit in silence, waiting for your ideas to explode out of your keyboard or your guitar and then I would run with them………..”

Their partnership extended beyond the landmark LP. Orbit also worked with Madonna on ‘Beautiful Stranger’ and later reunited with the singer for material on 2012’s ‘MDNA’.

Still, it was clearly their initial creative collision that remained especially sacred to the 67-year-old.

She concluded:

“I miss those days. Only you could inspire me to write a song like Drowned World or Swim. You were so otherworldly. So singular.

The years passed and I moved on to make music with other people, but I have never forgotten you or the magical time we spent together.

Goodbye Billy Bubbles.
I was so lucky to have known you and fallen down the rabbit hole with you. @williamorbit”

Their work on ‘Ray of Light’ has endured as one of Pop’s most acclaimed artist-producer pairings, with the set frequently hailed as a defining work in Madge’s catalog and a key moment in EDM’s crossover into mainstream Pop.