Behind some of the most enduring anthems of the past half-century stood a man with a simple goal: to emulate Elvis Presley. That childhood ambition carried Lennie Petze from a teenage garage band in Massachusetts to the highest echelons of the record industry, where his ear for talent reshaped pop music forever.
Photo courtesy of the Petze estate photographer unknown. For non-commercial use
Lennie Petze, renowned for his broad smile and adventurous spirit, possessed unerring intuition that guided the 20th century’s most prolific and beloved artists
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NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — When Lennie Petze enlisted his cousin and three friends to form The Rhythm Rockers in 1957, the 15-year-old guitarist from Weymouth, Massachusetts, had one goal: to emulate Elvis Presley. Petze’s dream wasn’t uncommon. The difference was Lennie’s talent, passion, tenacity, and unwavering commitment to success. When Lennie started his band, he never imagined it would eventually lead him to the pinnacle of the record business, earn several Grammy nominations and wins for artists he signed, garner over 100 gold and platinum records, and maintain a close friendship of over 40 years with the iconic Cyndi Lauper for simply chasing his dream. Considering Lennie’s sixty-five year marriage to his grade school sweetheart (Cecile) – plus their four children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren – he enjoyed one of the richest lives anyone could ask for. Importantly, he lived it with kindness, integrity and gratitude: qualities that fostered extraordinary trust and respect.
Lennie’s passing in June left scores of family members, friends and colleagues bereft of his charismatic presence and steadfast guidance. In remembering her mentor, Lauper – who Petze signed to CBS’s Portrait Records in 1981 – said, “Lennie was a gift to me, as was his family. I’m grateful for the time we all had together. I thought there would be more time. There never is. We did the incredible together. He always helped me through.”
Among Petze’s home runs at CBS was helping Lauper create her breakout album She’s So Unusual in 1983, which earned six Grammy nominations and scored four Top Five singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 (“Girls Just Want To Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop” and “All Through The Night” – all milestones of 1980s pop music). She’s So Unusual sold 7,000,000 copies worldwide and won Lauper two Grammys plus an MTV Video Music Award. Another illustrious signing – Tom Scholz of Boston – wrought another spectacular album: Boston, which included the ubiquitous anthems “More Than A Feeling,” “Peace of Mind” and “Rock and Roll Band.” Boston earned an astounding 17 platinum records and the RIAA Century Award. These two projects revived CBS’s Epic and Portrait labels and secured Petze’s place in 20th-century music.
Petze credited his success to lessons learned with The Rhythm Rockers and The Rondels, which introduced him to the rigors of writing, playing, recording and promoting music. “I transitioned to an executive role because of my understanding and appreciation for working in the trenches,” he told this writer. “Persistence – and growing a thick skin – is crucial if you’re in A&R. Once you’ve pushed through and put together a career as a musician, you’ve learned what it takes to become a music executive.”
Petze gained experience at Apple, Elektra, UNI and in 1970, CBS’s Epic/Portrait, where he rose to Senior Vice President of A&R (where he remained until 1991). While supervising the catalogs of Michael Jackson, Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Jeff Beck, The Clash and The Charlie Daniels Band, Petze leveraged blockbusters Boston and Cyndi Lauper to convince CBS to release Sade’s inaugural album Diamond Life on Portrait; it sold 7 million copies. He also brought Eddie Grant, Europe, Aldo Nova, Till Tuesday, Danger Danger, and Orion The Hunter to the label. Under his tutelage, Epic and Portrait thrived, capturing four nominations (and three wins) for ‘Best New Artist’ Grammys. In 2025 Cyndi Lauper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Sade is in the 2026 Class to be inducted later this year – honors that delighted Lennie as he saw firsthand the hard work that helped them achieve this honor.
Secure in his contributions to CBS, Petze left in 1991 to launch the Petze Music Group, focusing on New England artists. Later, he created Aureus Records: a label devoted to dance, house, hip-hop, rap and rhythm and blues. Until his death at 84, Petze continued supporting a new generation of writers and performers while influencing worldwide music with million-selling, chart-topping records.
Producer and Power Station studio designer Tony Bongiovi remembers Petze’s consummate ear. “Lennie was the best A&R man I knew, Bongiovi says.
“We’d hang on Cape Cod and listen to demos; his musical senses were incredible. Lennie knew a good song and a good artist – and how to pair them. He did that brilliantly! We became close friends, and I’m grateful Lennie brought his clients to record at my studio.”
Perhaps the best assessment of Lennie’s extraordinary character comes from his son, Joseph Petze. “If one were to ask our dad, he’d say his most treasured accomplishment was his family. However, his legacy goes far beyond that. Music was always his passion; his last day at home was spent in his studio, collaborating with Cyndi Lauper on edits for the 40th Anniversary reissue of True Colors.
“When we think of the music that impacted our lives – the songs that lifted us, comforted us, defined us – many of those songs might never have reached anyone’s ears if our dad hadn’t taken a chance on the artists behind them. Finding a hit record at that time was much different than today; it was based on listening to a song and performer, then forecasting how an audience would perceive it on the radio. That was the only metric that mattered. Imagine a world without songs like ‘More Than a Feeling,’ ‘True Colors,’ ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,’ ‘Smooth Operator,’ ‘Rock the Casbah,’ ‘The Final Countdown’ or ‘Shake Your Body Down to the Ground.’ It’s unimaginable to think they might not have been heard without Lennie Petze ‘hearing’ something in them that others hadn’t. He knew it wasn’t just the artists who were important; it was the songwriters, producers, musicians and technicians working in the studio, too. Their dreams found a home because he took a chance and gave them a shot – often their first (and at times, their last). Every risk he took – every sacrifice he made – quietly changed lives, including his own and those of the family he adored.”
Gail Parenteau
Parenteau Guidance
+1 212-532-3934
parenteauguidance.com@gmail.com
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Girls Just Want To Have Fun Official Video
Why it matters: Petze’s career illustrates how a single executive’s instinct could shape the soundtrack of an era, turning unknown artists into global superstars. His passing marks the end of an era in which radio-driven hits and personal relationships, rather than algorithms, determined what music the world heard.
