Madonna Remembers William Orbit With Emotional Tribute: ‘You Were My Ray of Light’

Madonna is remembering William Orbit following his death.

On Saturday (Aug. 8), the Queen of Pop took to social media to remember her Ray of Light producer following his death at age 69.

“I had an epiphany when I met you and started working with you,” Madonna wrote on Instagram. “I realized that music did not have to fit into categories or genres. So we created our own.”

The superstar singer’s post included a clip of her acceptance speech at the 1999 Grammy Awards, where Orbit stood by her side as they accepted the award for best pop vocal album. Ray of Light peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

She continued, “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.”

Orbit died at his home on July 23, but his death was announced Friday (Aug. 7). A cause of death was not given.

The producer first remixed Madonna songs including “Justify My Love” and “Erotica” before the pair collaborated on her 1998 album, Ray of Light. His signature sound, incorporating elements of techno, trip-hop and downtempo, can be heard throughout the album.

“I sang in ways I’d never sung before,” Madonna wrote in her tribute. “I used words without caring if they made sense or not. In many ways you were my Ray of Light — as was my daughter Lola who was born around this time.”

She added, “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…”

The pair frequently worked together over the following decade, with Orbit receiving production credits on “Beautiful Stranger,” “American Pie” and songs on Madonna’s 2000 album Music and 2012’s MDNA.

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

See Madonna’s full tribute to Orbit on Instagram below.