Seymour Stein (born April 18, 1942) is an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded
Sire Records and was Vice President of
Warner Bros. Records.
With Sire, Stein signed bands that became central to the
new wave era of the 1970s and 80s, including
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talki ...](_blank)
, the
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...
, and
The Pretenders
Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...
; he signed
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
as well. He was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
in 2005.
Music career
Stein was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. As a high school student, he interned in the summers of 1957 and 1958 at
King Records in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...
. He took on a clerk position for music industry magazine ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
'' in 1958 and starting in 1961 worked for two years for King Records.
In 1966, Stein and record producer
Richard Gottehrer founded Sire Productions, which led to the formation of
Sire Records, the label under which he signed pioneer artists such as
the Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...
and
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talki ...](_blank)
in 1975,
the Pretenders
Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete ...
in 1980, and
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
in 1982. Other acts signed by Sire include
The Replacements,
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depech ...
,
The Smiths,
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
,
Ice-T,
Ministry,
The Undertones, and
Echo & the Bunnymen.
Such was Stein's influence in signing and promoting the
new wave genre of music that he is sometimes credited with coming up with the name as an alternative to the term
punk, which he found derogative. The term had previously been used to refer to the
French New Wave
French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...
film movement of the 1960s.
Stein was the President of Sire Records and also Vice President of Warner Bros. Records until his announced retirement on July 18, 2018. He had had a marketing and distribution deal from 1976 to 1994 and again from April 2003 until retirement. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 14, 2005, under the lifetime-achievement category. On June 9, 2016, Stein was honored with the Richmond Hitmaker Award at the
Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Legacy
Stein is the subject of an eponymous song by the Scottish musical group
Belle and Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...
. He was the winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Dance Music Awards in 2010.
Ice-T wrote about Stein in his autobiography, stating: "He's cut from that cloth of the old-time music executives like
Clive Davis
Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000.
From 1967 to 19 ...
, but he's way more eccentric... Just a little more bizarre, a bit more avant-garde, more of an edgy cat."
He wrote that Stein would never edit Ice-T's musical output but would sometimes express concerns (e.g. he was against homophobia in rap).
Personal life
Stein was formerly married to the late music promoter and real estate executive
Linda Stein; together, the couple had two daughters before they divorced, on amicable terms, in the late 1970s.
Stein has never remarried. He revealed he was gay in 2017. One of his children is filmmaker
Mandy Stein
Mandy Stein (born January 14, 1975) is an American film producer and film director. Her parents are Seymour Stein and Linda S. Stein.
Early life
Stein was born in Manhattan. She graduated from Kent School
Kent School is a private, co-educ ...
. Stein's eldest daughter, Samantha, died as a result of brain cancer in 2013 at the age of 40. Stein published his autobiography, ''Siren Song: My Life in Music'', in 2018.
References
External links
Biography by the Rock and Roll Hall of FameInterview with Seymour Stein– The Citizen (South Africa), August 17, 2006
*
Seymour Stein biography
Seymour may refer to:
Places Australia
* Seymour, Victoria, a township
* Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria
* Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria
* Seymour, Tasmania, a localit ...
at Allmusic.com
Seymour Stein lyrics (Sung By Belle and Sebastian) – at Belleandsebastian.com
Interview with Seymour Steinby Terry Gross of Fresh Air, October 15, 2009
A Real Live Sire : Seymour Stein On Half A Century In The Music Business–
IASs Blog, April 21, 2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Seymour
1942 births
American music industry executives
Record producers from New York (state)
People from Brooklyn
American people of German descent
Living people
LGBT businesspeople from the United States