Howie Klein, legendary executive with Sire and Reprise Records, dies aged 77

Howie Klein, the legendary record executive at Sire and Reprise Records, has died at the age of 77.

The news was confirmed by his sister Michelle Swerdloff on social media on Christmas Day, who said he passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. “He had a truly amazing life and he lived it everyday,” she wrote. “He will be missed by everyone who knew him and loved him. Good night to my dear brother.”

Klein was considered one of the defining artist-friendly figures at the labels where he worked in the ‘80s and ‘90s, forging a reputation as a champion for creative freedom and working closely with the likes of Lou Reed, Ramones, Talking Heads, Green Day and Alanis Morissette.

Born in Brooklyn on 20 February 1948, Klein started his career by booking performers such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Janis Joplin at Stony Brook University in New York. He moved to San Francisco and became a DJ at KSAN-FM in 1976, becoming an early vocal supporter of punk and new wave music.

He co-founded 415 Records in 1978, launching acts including Romeo Void and Wire Train, before joining Sire Records in 1987, one of the key homes of alternative music in the US at the time. It was there that he helped to revitalise Lou Reed’s career with the 1989 album ‘New York’, which is often seen as the former Velvet Underground singer’s late-period peak.

Klein was made president of Reprise Records in 1989, and in his 13 years in post, he worked closely with Green Day, Ramones, Neil Young, Alanis Morissette, Ice-T, Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac.

He developed a reputation as a leading voice against censorship in the music industry and became deeply involved in political activism, especially as a leader of the Rock The Vote campaign. For such work, he was recognised with Spirit Of Liberty Awards and the Bill Of Rights Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

In the days following Klein’s departure from Warner Brothers due to the Time Warner-AOL merger in 2001, his successor decided not to release Wilco’s 2002 album ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ in the form the band wanted, leading to Wilco leaving Reprise, signing with Nonesuch and earning the best reviews of their career.

Klein continued with his activism through his Down With Tyranny blog in later life and continued to support progressive political causes.

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