Seymour Stein, Legendary Music Exec Who Signed Madonna and Talking Heads, Dies at 80
variety.comChris Morris Music ReporterSeymour Stein, whose Sire Records launched Madonna’s career and signed such early punk rock and new wave icons as the Ramones and Talking Heads, has died, a spokesperson for his family has confirmed to Variety.
The cause of death was not immediately clear, although he had been in unsteady health for several years. He was 80. Though Stein’s imprint, which he co-founded in New York in 1966, enjoyed major-label distribution, he approached the record business with an independent’s zeal, and took a multitude of risks on unproven, often underground talent that paid off on the charts.
Depeche Mode, Ice-T, Lou Reed, the Pretenders, the Smiths, the Cure, Seal, the Replacements, Aphex Twin and many more artists released some of their greatest music on Sire, whether via a direct signing or a licensing deal.
A well-curated mixtape of Sire releases from the ‘80s and ‘90s is like the soundtrack to an era. As Talking Heads’ late manager Gary Kurfirst told the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the occasion of the exec’s induction in 2005, “Seymour’s taste in music is always a couple of years ahead of everyone else’s.” He was undisputeably one of the greatest A&R executives in modern music history.
Read more on variety.com