Howie Klein, Music Executive & Anti-Censorship Activist, Dies at 77

Howie Klein (from his Facebook page)

Howie Klein, whose career took him from music concert presenter and radio DJ to heading up prominent record labels and fighting censorship, died Dec. 24, 2025, after a long battle with cancer. His death was confirmed by numerous associates in social media posts; the place of death was not noted but Klein lived in Los Angeles for many years. He was 77.

Born in Brooklyn on Feb. 20, 1948, in the late ’60s Klein attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he began writing about music and booking concerts. At a time when the powers that be at the school still preferred light entertainment for students, Klein brought in bands—many of them still virtually unknown at the time—like the Doors, the Grateful Dead, the Fugs (who he booked to play the freshman class dance), Jefferson Airplane, the Who, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd.

After finishing school, Klein traveled abroad for several years, then settled in San Francisco, where, in the late ’70s, he became a radio personality on the top local station KSAN. There he was an early champion of punk rock and new wave music, interviewing visiting and local bands, including the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop and Devo. His involvement with the emerging genre led Klein to co-found the indie record label 415 Records, where he signed bands like Translator, Romeo Void and Wire Train. (A book on the history of 415, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, by Bill Kopp, was published in 2021.)

Watch: Klein discussed music journalist Lester Bangs with Disturbing the Peace author Bill Kopp in a YouTube video

In 1987, Klein went to work at Sire Records, home to many of the leading punk/new wave bands, and from there he was named president of the Warner Bros. subsidiary Reprise Records, the label that had been formed by Frank Sinatra in 1960. At Reprise, Klein worked not only with upcoming, cutting-edge artists such as the Smiths, Green Day, Depeche Mode and Alanis Morrissette, but with such major names as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton.

In 2001, after the label’s parent company Time Warner merged with AOL, Klein resigned, devoting much of his time in subsequent years to anti-censorship efforts, with which he had already become involved during his tenure at Sire and Reprise. He also became involved with progressive political causes, receiving honors from the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations. Klein’s blog, DownWithTyranny!, which he wrote from 2000 to 2020, was recognized as a leading voice in the anti-censorship fight and as a voice of progressive political movements.

Related: Klein was one of many prominent figures in the music industry who passed in 2025

Watch Translator perform “Everywhere That I’m Not.” Klein signed the band to his 415 Records label.

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Jeff Tamarkin

Best Classic Bands Editor Jeff Tamarkin has been a prolific music journalist for nearly five decades. He is formerly the editor of Goldmine, CMJ and Relix magazines, has written for dozens of other publications and has authored liner notes for more than 80 CDs. Jeff has also served on the Nominating Committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and as a consultant to the Grammys. His first book was 'Got a Revolution! The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane.' He is also the co-author of 'Shell Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa, etc.,' with Howard Kaylan, and 'Carlos Santana: Love, Devotion, Surrender: The Illustrated Story of Santana's Musical Journey.'

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