Howie Epstein

At 47 years old, Howie Epstein has this physical status:

Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955-2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

Early life

Epstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in a musical household. Sam Wilson, Sam's father, was a top local record producer who performed with various rock and soul bands in the 1950s and 1960s. Epstein used to visit the music studios, listening his father's work and occasionally recording under his father's watchful eye at a young age. "I would go into the bars with my dad to check out the bands he was considering performing with," he said, and a few times he let me use companies he was working with as back-up musicians for stuff he wasn't familiar with." Howie attended Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin, graduating in 1973.

Personal life

Following her separation from English singer-songwriter Nick Lowe and her return to the United States in 1988, Epstein formed a fruitful and personal relationship with Carlene Carter, the niece of country music stars June Carter Cash and Carl Smith, and Johnny Cash's stepdaughter. Epstein had been helping Carter re-establish her career and released her hit song I Fell in Love (1990), co-authored the title track with his longtime collaborator; Milwaukee songwriter Perry M. Lamek. In 1991, Carter's vocals on the title track "I Fell In Love" earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocal Performance. Epstein's sequel to Carter's "Legend Letters" appeared three years later. Epstein and Carter were engaged from the mid- to late 1990s, living together in Tesuque, New Mexico, but they never married.

Howie, an actress, model, and court secretary, worked with Laurie June, an actress, model, and legal secretary in Laurel Canyon, California, long before Carlene Carter. They were together from 1979 to 1987.

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Career

Howie performed mainly rhythm guitar or mandolin and appeared in a variety of regionally popular rock and roll and country Milwaukee bands, including MHB Experience, Egz, Winks, Forearm Smash, and The Craze in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Epstein wanted to go to Milwaukee but before he could pack his gear, he was lured by a drummer friend to play bass in a new band that singer-songwriter John Hiatt was forming in Los Angeles. He was with Hiatt for two years and two albums (Slug Line and Two Bit Monsters).

Before joining the Heartbreakers, Epstein did not start playing the bass for a few years. Del Shannon was backed by him in a show. Epstein impressed Petty with his ability while working on a Shannon album that Tom Petty was composing (Drop Down And Get Me). As Ron Blair, who had been bassist with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers since their inception in 1976, announced that he would be leaving early due to exhaustion from the band's hectic touring schedule, he was hired to replace him. "We all knew how he'd get the job," says Stan Lynch, the original Heartbreakers' drummer. "He seemed to have a real good feeling for what we were doing." He's a good bass player, a natural entertainer, and he fits in well." Epstein admitted that the change from being involved in these obscure bands to being part of a well-known, well-established band was almost seamless. "It's been faster than I expected." Just because I'm a fan of the Heartbreakers, I was already familiar with the majority of their songs, so it wasn't like I was coming in cold."

Since joining the Heartbreakers, he began to play bass and the band more seriously. "I had a tendency to be super busy right from the time I was playing rhythm guitar." Epstein discovered a natural style, which he said emphasised "simplicity, playing in the pocket, and getting into a rhythm. I've always thought of myself as a good team player, and the Heartbreakers have figured out how to play. "Everybody else is doing well," says the narrator.

He made his live debut at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium in Santa Cruz, California, on the tour to promote Long After Dark's album on September 1, 1982. Epstein was a member of the Heartbreakers before his release due to his drug use, causing his poor health. He made his last appearance with the band when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2002.

Epstein's co-operation efforts were lauded by Tom Petty: he lauded him.

Epstein performed bass on recordings by Eric Andersen, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, John Hiatt, John Hiatt, Stevie Nicks, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, John Prine, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Eric Andersen, Bob Dylan, Duncan Carter, Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash, John Hiatt, John Hiatt, John Hiatt, John Hiatt, John Prine, John Prine, Linda Ronstadt, The Village People,

He gained fame as a writer and a producer. Epstein released two albums for John Prine (1991's The Missing Years, which received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Recording, and Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. He also co-produced Memory Of The Future (1998) and Beat Avenue (2002).

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