A signed and inscribed first edition of Lou Reed’s book Pass Thru Fire: The Collected Lyrics, from the collection of Howie Klein, the legendary music executive and President of Reed’s label Reprise Records.

Howie and Lou Reed were close friends and professional collaborators (see photo). Reed signed this on the free front endpaper ‘To my friend Howie, Lou Reed’.

Howie sadly passed away in December 2025.  He was a good friend of ours, and we acquired this directly from his estate.

In Mint condition.  With Recordmecca’s written lifetime guarantee of authenticity.

As Billboard Magazine noted, Howie Klein was an ‘influential and forward-thinking record executive and political activist whose artist-first philosophy helped bring alternative music into the mainstream…Widely respected for championing creative freedom and resisting censorship, Klein left his mark on the music business through influential roles at Sire Records and Reprise Records, as well as earlier work in radio and indie labels.’

In 1987 Howie joined Seymour Stein’s Sire Records, a division of Warner Bros. Records, as VP/General Manager, working closely with artists including Lou Reed, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode and Morrissey. In 1997 he was promoted to President of Warner’s Reprise label, overseeing a roster that included Green Day, Alanis Morissette, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Wilco, Fleetwood Mac, Paul Westerberg, Enya and many more.

In 2001, he left Reprise after the Time Warner-AOL merger, directing his attention to progressive political causes. Klein passed away in December 2025.