Photo Credit: Vivien Killilea
Seymour Stein, Co-Founder of Sire Records, has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 80.
Stein had a unique passion for music, developing a vast knowledge of songs after being granted access to the Billboard archives in 1955 at just 13 years old. After his graduation, Stein became a full-time member of the Billboard staff. He later moved to Cincinnati, where he worked for King Records and experienced the music industry from the label side.
In 1966, Stein co-founded Sire Productions with producer Richard Gotthrer. Sire Records was officially launched in 1967 and became devoted to promoting the English music scene with albums by British acts like Climax Blues Band, Barclay James Harvest, Holland’s Focus, and Renaissance.
Stein also helped inject what he called ‘new wave music’ into the mainstream consciousness with the Talking Heads and the Pretenders. Sire’s roster included artists like the Ramones, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Madonna, Tom Tom Club, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Erasure, and many more. In 2005, Stein was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an organization he helped co-found in 1983. The Songwriters Hall of Fame honored him in 2016 and Sire Records celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017.
Here is the statement from his daughter, Mandy Stein.
“I grew up surrounded by music. I didn’t have the most conventional upbringing, but I wouldn’t change my life and my relationship with my dad for anything, and he was a loving and caring grandfather who took pleasure in every moment with his granddaughters,” Mandy begins.
“He gave me the ultimate soundtrack, as well as his wicked sense of humor. I am beyond grateful for every minute our family spent with him and that the music he brought tot he world impacted so many people’s lives in a positive way.”