Faces of Milwaukee: Howie Epstein

Rock and Roll history isn't exactly bursting with Jewish stars, especially ones born and raised in Milwaukee, so it is with a bit of cultural pride that I present today's portrait of Howie Epstein, legendary bassist for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Epstein grew up in a musical household, his father managed bands and played drums, but he showed a passion and talent for music at an early age. After seeing the Beatles on television he was inspired to form a band at the age of 8, and would continue to perform through his teen years, his dad providing transportation for him and his bandmates to backyard parties and bar mitzvahs. After losing his father to a heart attack at the age of 15, he went mostly unsupervised and his home became a central spot for local musicians, with loud parties and jam sessions frequently requiring intervention from the Fox Point police. He continued to play clubs in and around Milwaukee, but began to look for bigger opportunities.

He left Milwaukee for LA at 23 at the invite of ex-Milwaukee musician John Hiatt to record and tour. After the tour ended, Epstein stayed in LA taking any work he could find. One of those gigs, backing former great Del Shannon on bass, brought Epstein to the attention of Tom Petty who, as a huge Shannon fan, had offered to produce a new album for him. After hearing Epstein's bass work and beautiful singing voice, and with the serendipitous departure of the Heartbreakers original bassist Ron Blair, Petty hired Epstein away from Del Shannon. He would remain a member of The Heartbreakers for the next 20 years.

In 1987, Petty took a hiatus from The Heartbreakers to do solo work, and Epstein tried his hand at music production. He decided to try to restart the career of Carlene Carter, daughter/stepdaughter of June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash by producing her album, recorded at his home studio. The title track of I Fell in Love, written by Epstein and his longtime songwriting partner and fellow Milwaukeean Perry Lamek, went to #3 on the Country Charts. He also famously produced John Prine's 1991 album The Missing Years, also recorded in his home and featuring a number of other stars. It would win a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Sadly, after his involvement with Carlene Carter turned romantic, the pair sank deeper into drugs and Epstein became increasingly estranged from his bandmates and friends when they reunited in the 1990s. He began using his own tour bus, which many suspected was to help him conceal the extent of his habit. Eventually Epstein was unable to perform with the Heartbreakers and Petty was forced to fire him in 2002. He died the next year, his cause of death listed as a heroin overdose. He is buried at Second Home Cemetery in Greenfield.