We mourn the passing of our friend Steve Backer, who died Monday. He was just 58. Steve served in senior positions at Epic, Giant, V2 Records and EMI Music Publishing over the course of a career that began in college promotion at CBS Records.

Our thoughts go out to Steve's family and extended music-biz mishpuchah.

“"I'm in shock and heartbroken,” Said UMPG Chairman Jody Gerson, who worked with Steve when he headed the West Coast office of EMI Music Publishing. “I will always be indebted to Backer and owe him a lot. He introduced me to my ex-husband and helped me land my first job in the music industry. He was very good to me and was a part of my family. I loved him very much and will miss him terribly."

“Steve went to the same high school as myself,” Jerry Greenberg recalls. “He called me to do a interview for the high school newspaper, as I was now President of Atlantic Records. I could tell during that interview his love for music, people and desire to get into the business. We meet again when we were both at Sony and had some great times together. I saw him a few months ago, and we talked about the good times we had together. He was a great guy who will be missed.”

We'll always remember the day Steve came to our Sherman Oaks office with a brand-new copy of The White Stripes' "Seven Nations Army." He beamed as we geeked out listening to the now-iconic track for the first time. Steve was a music lover, big time.

Steve's wife, Piper Taylor, posted this message on Facebook:

It is with great sadness and heartbreak that I share with you the devastating news that Steve Backer passed away today after a fight with interstitial lung disease.

A celebration of life gathering for friends, colleagues and all those people who loved Steve will be planned in the coming weeks. Details to follow.

In lieu of flowers and cards, donations can be made to the Women's Guild Lung Institute at Cedars-Sinai in memory of Steve Backer.

Manager Jim Guerinot (pictured with Steve in Telluride in the mid-'80s) sent the following farewell:

Backer Boy.

I don’t think there was a time Backer ever called a male friend by his first name. Ever. It was either a middle-school affectation or a throwback to some sort of Draperesque, music-biz thing. And that was my image of Backer—a holdout from the best days we all shared in the music business. Black Rock., Marlboro Reds and MTV Awards. Vegas, cigars and meaningful expense accounts. Oh, and monster record sales.

There are promo guys and there was Backer. In his khakis, pressed white shirts and his Ted Knight-approved navy sport coat while we all looked like slobs. Gossip flowed like water with Backer, he had the latest dirt on everything. He turned me on to his hypnotist in New York that he used to quit smoking. I’m not sure which one of us broke first.

Anyone who knew Backer will have a deep sense of loss because not only is his larger-than-life personality no longer part of our world, but truly a part of us—a time, an era—feels like it has moved on with him. Rest in peace, old friend.