Jump to content

Seymour Stein on Madonna


XXL

Recommended Posts

New Interview for Tablet Magazine

7.25.13

Seymour Stein, Record Company Man Who Signed the Ramones and Madonna

The music mogul and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer talks about his faith in God, rockstar Kabbalah, and the soundtracks of life

seymourstein_072413_620px.jpg

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/music/138874/seymour-stein-interview/2

I always believed in her, because not only did she have talent, but she had a burning desire, drive, ambition, and a work ethic that is incredible. So, she had everything and I saw that in my hospital room.

I was at one of her gigs of the last tour. Warner Bros. bought my company and if it were up to me she’d still be where she was. But she couldn’t make a new deal with Warner on the terms that she wanted and she left. It had nothing to do with me.

I don’t see her that much but I’m in close contact with her manager, Guy Oseary, who is Israeli and living in L.A. and a very smart young man. Well, he’s not that young anymore. He’s certainly quite young, but when I met him he was just out of high school.

It’s been 30 years since Madonna’s first album, which of course you were responsible for. How did that happen?

This wasn’t at the beginning of my career. I already had Sire Records, which was moderately successful. I already had some very important bands before I signed her—The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Pretenders. I had another company that had all the original Fleetwood Mac recordings, so Madonna wasn’t my first big artist. I got involved with her through a club DJ named Mark Kamins, who I liked and I thought had a lot of talent. I gave him some work remixing records. He wanted to be a producer and he wanted me to give him one of my artists to produce. I told him, “I don’t give my artists to anybody.

Usually they pick the producer. I try to give my artists as much artistic freedom as possible, within reason. I couldn’t recommend you because you have no track record. If you want to be a producer you have to find an artist and bring him or her or it—if it’s a band—to me. Then if I like the artist you can produce them.” He brought me a couple of things that were very good but not good enough to sign.

The third artist he brought me was Madonna. I was in the hospital at the time. I had to be there for a month, I had an infection. The Walkman had just recently come out, so I had the demo sent right over to me. I loved it and being a little naturally paranoid, in a very Jewish way, I said, “I want to see her right away, I want to sign her.” So, she came to the hospital, we agreed to make a record together and the rest is history.

Did you ever think she’d be calling herself Esther one day?

Esther meine schwester? Ahh … no. I believed she would be a star. People ask me, “Did you know then, in the hospital, that she would be one of the biggest female singers of the 20th century?” I would love to be able to say, “Of course I did!” But that’s not true and I couldn’t say that. But I always believed in her, because not only did she have talent, but she had a burning desire, drive, ambition, and a work ethic that is incredible. So, she had everything and I saw that in my hospital room.

Are you still in touch with her today?

Yes. I was at one of her gigs of the last tour. Warner Bros. bought my company and if it were up to me she’d still be where she was. But she couldn’t make a new deal with Warner on the terms that she wanted and she left. It had nothing to do with me. I don’t see her that much but I’m in close contact with her manager, Guy Oseary, who is Israeli and living in L.A. and a very smart young man. Well, he’s not that young anymore. He’s certainly quite young, but when I met him he was just out of high school. He wasn’t managing her then, but he became involved with her record company and he did an excellent job. It’s been a very good working relationship between the two of them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cabala is not just for Jews. I think Madonna has done a lot for Cabala because she’s a spokesperson for it and I find it wonderful

She was into Cabala before the trend. She didn’t do it because it was trendy, just like she doesn’t help little children in Africa because it’s a trendy thing to do. She does it because she wants to.

seymour_stein_news.jpg

74727145-david-byrne-seymour-stein-and-m

What do you think about Madonna’s interest in Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism?

I think it’s tremendous. I learned a bit of Kabbalah when I was young, not very much, and I didn’t take to it that well. But Kabbalah is not just for Jews. I think Madonna has done a lot for Kabbalah because she’s a spokesperson for it and I find it wonderful.

You don’t find it a bit strange?

Not at all. She was in it before the trend. She didn’t do it because it was trendy, just like she doesn’t help little children in Africa because it’s a trendy thing to do. She does it because she wants to. She’s not very interested in her own religion, the Catholic religion.

I shouldn’t say this because I don’t really know, but from knowing her and being close with her my interpretation is that a lot of it had to do with her schooling at Catholic school and also with the fact that both of her parents were very religious Catholic and her mother was taken away from her at such an early age. Her mother died of cancer and she never got over it. That’s it. And then she just found the Kabbalah. I have several Jewish friends who have found Buddhism. Is that any less strange?

While Madonna is coming closer to Judaism, another one of your biggest stars was actually Jewish

Yes, Joey Ramone. He was Jewish, of course. His name was Jeffrey Hyman—how could he not be? I knew his mother, she was a lovely woman, and I knew his brother. But we never discussed the fact that we were both Jewish.

Joey Ramone was the quintessential outsider. Do you think the fact that he was Jewish had anything to do with that?

No matter what religion he would have been he was an outsider. He was a sickly kid, he was a bit strange looking. He would have been an outsider if he was a Catholic living in Vatican City. But he was a lovely giving human being. Two weeks before he died he sent me a CD of a new band, as he did quite often. He was always trying to help people.

Do you remember what band it was?

No, I don’t remember. They weren’t very good. But Joey was always very giving of himself to young artists. I was also very close with Johnny Ramone and with Dee Dee, and in some ways the one I was closest with most of all was the original drummer, Tommy Ramone. He is a Hungarian Jew, but I never explored that with him. He’s a lovely, lovely man. I love the Ramones and I was very close with them. My ex-wife Linda was even closer with them, she was their co-manager for a long time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're welcome guys :gent:

A 2008 night to remember :)

Seymour and the IV drip at the 12:40 mark

By the way Seymour, now 71, was also inducted into the RRHF in 2005

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And this is a statement from Madonna when Stein's wife Linda was found murdered in October 2007

I had a great visit with Linda and Seymour backstage after my show last year at Madison Square Garden, and we of course reminisced about the good old days,” Madonna said. “I deeply admired her courage in her battle with breast cancer, as well as her career success.” “She raised two wonderful daughters,” Madonna said. “That was her best accomplishment of all.”

31_stein_lgl.jpg

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2007/10/linda_stein.html

“I saw that there was money to be made,” she told New York Magazine when Michael Gross profiled her back in 1991.

“My clients are my friends.” They included Bruce Willis, Billy Joel, Sting, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Calvin Klein, Joan Rivers, Sylvester Stallone, Jann Wenner and Rupert Everett. Publicity didn’t always work for Stein. Years ago, she lost Madonna as a client when a photograph of them looking at co-ops appeared on the front page of the New York Post (Madonna was rejected by the board at the San Remo).

"Page Six" once put her in “publicity rehab” after she got another columnist to, tongue-in-cheek, imply she was romantically linked to its editor, Richard Johnson. In 1996, she was fired from Sotheby's International Realty after commenting for a story in the Times about rich men, like David Geffen and Ronald Perelman, who buy townhouses and never move into them (“It’s amazing these guys can ever make a business decision,” she said).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...