Seymour Stein—the record industry luminary who signed Madonna, Ramones, Talking Heads, and more to his label Sire Records—has died, The New York Times reports. Stein’s daughter, Mandy Stein, said he died at home on Sunday of cancer. He was 80.
Stein was infatuated with the recording industry from an early age. After high school, he worked at Billboard and got his start on the label front at King Records—the Cincinnati soul label that was home to James Brown. In 1966, he co-founded Sire with Richard Gottehrer.
As a co-founder of Sire Records, Stein helped break the careers of some of the most iconic artists in popular music and was a key champion of punk rock and new wave. In addition to Ramones and Talking Heads, Sire brought in the Replacements, the Pretenders, the Saints, the Smiths, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Dead Boys, the Undertones, Echo & the Bunnymen, Ministry, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, and more.
Seymour Stein famously signed Madonna when she visited him at the side of his hospital bed. Stein was part of the group of industry professionals who started the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. There’s also a Belle & Sebastian song on The Boy With the Arab Strap called “Seymour Stein.” Stein’s memoir, Siren Song: My Life in Music, was released in 2018.
Madonna paid tribute to Stein on social media on Monday (April 3), calling him “one of the most influential men in [her] life,” and a person who “changed and shaped [her] world.” She concluded the message, “Anyone who knew Seymour knew about his passion for music and his impeccable taste. He had an Ear like no other! He was Intense—Wickedly Funny—a little bit Crazy And Deeply intuitive. Dearest Seymour you will never be forgotten!! Thank You! Thank you Thank you! . . Shine on!!!”
On Talking Heads’ social media, a statement attributed to all four members described Stein as the band’s champion. “He fought bravely for us and he remained loyal to us until the end,” the band wrote. “Some people can spot a diamond in the rough and Seymour was one of them. He offered us a record deal after seeing us only one time at CBGB, before even we felt we were ready. He waited impatiently for eighteen months until we finally said yes to his offer. Seymour’s life was one of great success and also great tragedy, but through it all he remained crazy about music. To hear him sing one of our own songs to us while barreling down Broadway in a Checker cab was one of our life’s great delights.”
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