Billy, Beads & Butterflies

Billy Steinberg holding exquisite examples of Ghanian powder glass beads

It’s about a four-hour drive northwest from Mexico City (CDMX) to the Mariposa Monarca Biosphere Reserve in the mountains of Michoacan State, the over-wintering site for the Eastern North American population of the beautiful monarch butterfly.  We were headed to El Rosario Sanctuary, one of several Sanctuaries in that area that are home to millions of monarchs between October and April. 

In one of nature’s epic migrations, the boldly colorful and fragile monarchs migrate 3000 miles south from the northern US and Canada to mountains of Michoacan, there to spend the winter in large, drooping clusters on the native oyumel fir trees. On sunny days, as the sunlight warms the forests, the butterflies swarm in their many thousands, a quietly dramatic illustration of the mysterious workings of nature.   Many references and books are available, and I recommend the recently published Taking Flight – An introduction to the World of the Monarch Butterflies by Rodrigo llanos Gomez.

Butterflies pervade the globe (perhaps 20,000 species?) and are the source of folktales and rituals in many cultures. In Mexico, the monarch is especially venerated and is featured  in the famous Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), where they are believed to be returning souls of ancestors. A national festival observed on 2 November, Dia de los Muertos was first associated with the monarchs by the Purépecha people, indigenous to the Michoacan mountains. They noticed that the monarchs returned to their mountains around this same time, and they saw them as both the souls of their returning ancestors and a spiritual bridge between the physical and unseen worlds.

It was mid February (2026) and we were three hours into the drive to see the monarchs. As we entered the mountains and I was thinking about the spiritual symbol of the monarchs that we were soon be among, my phone unexpectedly rang (cell reception is irregular). It was my friend Jake March of Nomad Beads in Boulder, Colorado. He said simply, “I’m so sorry to tell you that Billy died. I know you and he were friends.”  We spoke for way less than a minute before the signal was lost. That was it.

Billy Steinberg was an accomplished and highly successful songwriter of pop music in the 1980’s and 90’s…for example, “Like a Virgin”, Madonna’s first hit song that became the title of her first world tour…and Cyndi Lauper’s fabulous hit, “True Colors.”   He was fun, reflective, by his own joking admission “a bit neurotic,” and always personal and easy to relate to. He had a genuine humility and self-deprecation rarely found in the Hollywood and LA music scene through which he moved all of his professional life. 

Billy was also a well-known bead collector. He had a large and diverse collection, but was especially recognized for his collection of powder-glass beads from Ghana (bodom, akoso, etc) – his was likely the world’s foremost private collection of such beads. A book worth having is Wild Beads of Africa, completely focused on his collection with fabulous photographs by Frederick Nilsen and superb text by Jayme D. Allen, an incomparable expert in beads who shares his considerable knowledge with very readable depth and grace.

Jake’s news was not unexpected but nonetheless captured and quieted me. Billy had addressed cancer for many years and was in remission twice. The last time I visited him (just three weeks previously), after I said, “See you again, soon,” he replied, “I hope so!” In the March 2026 issue of Ornament Magazine, publisher, polymath, and bead expert Robert Liu published a short, warm remembrance.

Over the several years we knew each other, on all of my frequent visits to LA I always included time with Billy and Trina (Irish artist and wife) in Brentwood. As we sat and talked, I sometimes purchased a lovely and special strand of beads and/or an interesting, often-unique single bead from his collection. But one small strand is special. 

After we visited several years ago and just as I was leaving, Billy saw some beads on the sideboard, a very informal string of mostly Venetian glass (a few of the small pieces very nice) and a few, small West African powder glass, his specialty.  It was on a rough cotton string and, while not expensive or ‘special’, it evoked immediate interest.  He picked it up and said, "Here, have these, from me."  Just as he handed them to me, he suddenly snatched them back and stared intently at one of the small powder glass beads. After a moment he said, "This is a design I've never seen." He then handed them back to me. Every day since then that strand of beads has been the daily-carry in my pocket.. every mile, country, hike and meeting (serving as an important source of patience as my fingers ran over them in many prolonged discussions and negotiations). 

The monarch migration will never be the same for me. Travel-on and stay well, Billy. See you next time around!

Venetian (1900) and a few Ghanian (1925) daily carry-a gift from Billy Steinberg

Monarch Butterflies warming in winter sun, Michoacan Mexico