Seymour Stein, the visionary record exec who signed Madonna, The Ramones and Talking Heads to the label he co-founded, Sire Records, died at his L.A. home on Sunday, 4/2, at the age of 80. The cause was cancer.

During a label career spanning more than 50 years, Stein signed The Pretenders, The Smiths, The Cure, Seal and k.d. lang early in their careers, helped Lou Reed, Brian Wilson and Jimmy Scott revive theirs and, during the label’s historic ’80s run, built a roster that included The Replacements, Echo & the Bunnymen, Madness, The Undertones, Everything but the Girl and My Bloody Valentine.

He was among the founders of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and in 2005 was inducted as a non-performer.

An obsessive music fan focused on the charts as a youth, Stein (nee Steinbigle ) had an encyclopedic knowledge pop and rock music in the 20th century. His first job after high school in his native Brooklyn was with Billboard, and from there he worked at King Records, best known for James Brown’s 1960s hits, and Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller’s Red Bird Records, which hit #1 with The Dixie Cups’ “Chapel of Love.”

"Way before Seymour Stein signed Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, The Ramones, Talking Heads, Madonna, Depeche Mode or The Smiths, he was a massive fan of music, and he had an extraordinary knowledge of artists and records,” Hipgnosis CEO Merck Mercuriadis wrote on social media. “He gave us a lot of love, and he was the center of many escapades that still have us laughing to this day. Rest in peace, Seymour."

Members of The Smiths, Blondie and Undertones were among the artists who paid tribute on social media to Stein.

Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads wrote on Facebook: “For decades his taste was spot on and there are very few who can match his track record. He also had the good sense and confidence to let artists make their own decisions: Talking Heads determined the direction of each album, designed all of our early covers, and directed our own videos. We were lucky to have such a strong ally who had both confidence in us and in his intuition.”

Stein and producer-songwriter Richard Gottehrer formed Sire in 1966, starting as a production company with a deal from Columbia and two years later becoming a full-fledged label with distribution in the U.S. via London Records.

Gottehrer told HITS in 2019, “Sire is actually S for Seymour, I is the second letter of Richard, R is the first letter of Richard and E is the second letter of Seymour. Go figure.”

Sire became a U.S. distributor for music released in Europe, with an emphasis on progressive British acts including The Climax Blues Band, Barclay James Harvest and The Deviants. The label had its first chart hit in 1972 with Dutch band Focus’ “Hocus Pocus.”

Stein’s wife Linda tipped him to The Ramones and the burgeoning downtown Manhattan rock scene in 1975; their landmark self-titled debut came out a year later and the label became a leader in punk and new wave music. It led to Stein bulking up Sire’s roster with young, unproven acts: Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Soft Cell, Echo and the Bunnymen; they had an out-of-left-field global hit with Plastic Bertrand’s “Ça Plane Pour Moi” and their first #1 in 1979 with M’s “Pop Muzik.” Warner Bros. Records, which started distributing Sire in 1977 after acquiring 50% of the label, bought the other half in 1980.

Stein’s most successful signing, though, came in 1982 when he inked Madonna to a deal for three singles and an option for an album. Her self-titled debut came out in 1983 after her first two singles generated dance club buzz, yielding the hits “Holiday,” “Borderline” and “Lucky Star.” Sire was the label behind all of her 1980s smashes.

The Cult, Bare Naked Ladies, Ice-T's Body Count and Teagan & Sara were among Sire's biggest acts in the late 1980s and '90s.

In the 1990s, Sire moved between Warner Music Group divisions—at one point Stein and Sylvia Rhone were co-presidents of Elektra—before Sire became a standalone label from 1997 through ’99—before Sire became a standalone label from 1997 through ’99. Bud Scoppa worked for Stein as West Coast VP of A&R until Sire was folded into London and Scoppa transitioned to HITS. In the early 2000s, now-Mom + Pop co-head Michael Goldstone spent five years at Sire, during which time it was separated from London and moved back under the Warner Bros. umbrella.

In 2010, Stein and Gottehrer revived the U.K. blues label Blue Horizon, a label they were involved with in Sire’s early days, for The Orchard.

Stein retired in 2018 shortly after being honored by the Recording Academy with its Trustees Award.

“I’ve always been a positive thinker, and have kept so much of the bad out of my mind,” Stein wrote in the liner notes for the box set Just Say Sire, released in 2006. “I’ve always thought of myself as being very lucky, having been able to do what I love most for most of my life.”

RIP Seymour Stein. Legendary record man. Signed me to Sire Records in 1984 and bought me my Red 355 from 48th Street to seal the deal. Worked with The Drifters, Rolling Stones & Shangri-Las. Discovered Talking Heads, Ramones & Madonna. Well done Seymour & thank you my friend. pic.twitter.com/p2BGzlpcqU
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) April 3, 2023

The legendary @sirerecords co-founder Seymour Stein signing the new "Just Say 50" #RecordStoreDay box set at Amoeba Hollywood! #RSD17 pic.twitter.com/0FFM2p9ReI
— Amoeba Music (@amoebamusic) April 22, 2017

In Memoriam: Entrepreneur, record executive, and co-founder of Sire Records, Seymour Stein began his career in music as a teenager, clerking at Billboard and learning the business from King Records’ founder Syd Nathan. At Sire’s helm, Stein signed such acts as the Ramones... 1/2 pic.twitter.com/ii40qndWWl
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) April 3, 2023

Seymour Stein ushered so much pleasure into this music fan’s life.
— Dan Wilson (@DanWilsonMusic) April 3, 2023

Forget about Madonna, Talking Head, the Ramones etc.

Seymour Stein was also man that signed The Undertones.

RIP Seymour, it was a honour and privilege to know you and thank you so much for the leg up to a young band from Ireland. Tip of hat sir.https://t.co/vulnhPnuls
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) April 3, 2023

Last time I saw Seymour Stein, Los Angeles 2019 posing with Rodney. He always got it. RIP Seymour pic.twitter.com/Z23dVPe3mO
— CÊœÊ€Éªs Sá´›á´‡ÉªÉ´ (@chrissteinplays) April 3, 2023

Nigel House remembers Seymour Stein...

"He came into the old shop on Kensington Park Road with a box of 12"s in '82 by an artist called Madonna. We were selling Ramones, Talking Heads... what did he think we were going to be able to do with this?! How wrong we were." pic.twitter.com/AhcccTQFQJ
— Rough Trade (@RoughTrade) April 3, 2023

The Legend Seymour Stein passed away.. He signed Me, BodyCount, Madonna, Lou Reed, Talking Heads, The Ramones and many more incredible groups. He asked me of all people the induct Him into the RockNRoll Hall of Fame. It’s a Sad day for me and all of music. Love you Seymour ðŸ™… https://t.co/9s2gVYMaSp
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) April 3, 2023