After Seymour Stein died, Madonna called him ‘one of the most influential’ people in her life

The Times Revisited: Seymour Stein and Madonna (Ramones) During the 1970s When New Waves First Collided

Born in 1942, Stein was a New York City native who as a teenager worked summers at Cincinnati-based King Records, James Brown’s label, and by his mid-20s had co-founded Sire Productions, soon to become Sire Records.

Stein died of cancer in Los Angeles, according to a statement by his family.

Obsessed with the Billboard music charts since childhood, he was known for his deep knowledge and appreciation of music and would prove an astute judge of talent during the 1970s era of New Wave, a term he helped popularize, signing record deals with Talking Heads, the Ramones and the Pretenders.

“Seymour’s taste in music is always a couple of years ahead of everyone else’s,” Talking Heads manager Gary Kurfirst told the Rock Hall around the time of Stein’s induction.

He heard the demo tape of Madonna, a little known singer-dancer from New York’s downtown club scene, and that’s when he made the most money.

Madonna needed to “catch (her) breath” while remembering Seymour Stein – the record executive who initially signed her in the early ’80s – after learning that he had died over the weekend at the age of 80.

He wrote that she looked like a club kid who was out of place in a cardiac ward. She didn’t want to know how much I liked her demo. She said she needed to sign a record deal.

Sidney Stein and the Virgin Mary: A Moment in Memory of a Very Special Man (Sideteria) and His First Solo Record

Ice T, the Smiths, and other well-known musicians were among the Sire artists who recorded with the group later in their careers.

Stein was briefly married to Linda Adler, who had two children with him: filmmakerMandy Stein and Samantha Lee Jacobs, who died of brain cancer in 2013). Sidney Stein and his wife divorced in the 1970s and years later he came out as gay.

“I am grateful for every second my family was with him and that the music he helped to create impacted so many people’s lives in a positive way,” she said.

The iconic entertainer posted a series of pictures of herself with the former Sire Records chief to her Instagram on Monday, writing in the caption that he was “one of the most influential” people in her life.

After explaining how she “stalked” a DJ at the famous New York City nightclub Danceteria, Madonna said she finally got him to play “Everybody” – the song that would eventually become her first single – which was heard by an “A&R man” from Sire Records.

“He smiled and laughed when he saw me and asked me if I was related to the Virgin Mary!” the “Vogue” singer wrote of the executive, later adding, “I knew we would hit it off. The song was played a number of times by me. I was signed to his record label that day.

She said at the end of her comments that she was weeping as she wrote it down. “Words cannot describe how I felt at this moment after years of grinding and being broke and getting every door slammed in my face. Anyone who knew Seymour knew about his passion for music and his impeccable taste.”