Madonna pays tribute to late record exec Seymour Stein

Madonna is paying tribute to record exec Seymour Stein, who passed away Sunday at the age of 80.

“Seymour Stein Has Left Us! I need to catch my breath,” she writes. “He Was one of the most influential Men in my Life!! He changed and Shaped my world. I must Explain.”

Stein signed Madonna to Sire Records in 1981. In her tribute she recounts the story of auditioning for him when he was in the hospital for a heart ailment.

“When I met him he was laying in a hospital bed wearing his boxer shorts and a wife beater!” she writes. “He had a cannula up his nose and a saline Drip in his arm! He was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.” She explains that she had her boombox with her to play him some of her music, noting, “He smiled and laughed when he saw me and asked me if I was related to the Virgin Mary!! … I knew we would hit it off.”

Madonna played him some music and he signed her that day.

“This moment changed the course of my Life Forever. And was the beginning of my journey as a Musical Artist,” she says. “Not only did Seymour hear me but he Saw me and my Potential! For this I will be eternally grateful!”

“Anyone who knew Seymour knew about his passion for music and his impeccable taste,” Madonna concludes. “He had an Ear like no other! He was Intense -Wickedly Funny-a little bit Crazy And Deeply intuitive. Dearest Seymour you will never be forgotten!!”