another story tangentially related to Johnny Cash...<P>SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) â?? Howie Epstein, a former bass player for Tom <BR>Petty and the Heartbreakers, died of what authorities suspect was a <BR>drug overdose. He was 47. <BR>Investigators were told Epstein had been using heroin, said Maj. <BR>Ron Madrid of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department. Epstein was <BR>driven to St. Vincent Hospital by his girlfriend, who described him <BR>as "under distress." He died Sunday. <BR>Epstein was taking antibiotics for an illness, and he had recently <BR>suffered from flu, stomach problems and an abscess on his leg, <BR>friends said. <BR>"Apparently he passed out in the bathroom, and (his girlfriend) <BR>drove him to the hospital," Madrid said. <BR>Epstein has been a respected musician and producer for more than <BR>20 years. In addition to his work with Petty, he played on some of <BR>Bob Dylan's albums in the 1980s and produced a Grammy-award winning <BR>album for folk singer-songwriter John Prine called The Lost Years. <BR>He was singer Carlene Carter's longtime boyfriend, producing two <BR>of her albums, one of which was nominated for a Grammy. <BR>"I'm devastated," said Carter, the stepdaughter of country singer <BR>Johnny Cash and daughter of June Carter Cash. "I loved him very much. <BR>My kids thought of Howie as their father. <BR>"We had a good life together for 15 years. We've been apart since <BR>May last year, and all I know is I'm going to miss him very much." <BR>Epstein teamed up with Petty in 1982 and also worked with Roy <BR>Orbison, Del Shannon, John Hiatt, Stevie Nicks and Eric Anderson. <BR>"We are deeply saddened at the news of Howie's passing. It's <BR>difficult to put into words how much we loved him and will miss him. <BR>The world has lost a great talent and a kind and gentle soul," <BR>according to a statement on Petty's Web site. <BR>Epstein and Carter were arrested in June 2001 in Albuquerque with <BR>2.9 grams of black-tar heroin and drug paraphernalia in a vehicle <BR>that had been reported stolen. <BR>Epstein was not charged in that case. Carter pleaded no contest to <BR>a charge of heroin possession and was sentenced to 18 months <BR>probation. <BR>Several months before the plea, she was released into the custody <BR>of her daughter, Tiffany Lowe, in Nashville and has lived there <BR>since. <BR>Epstein, who was born in Milwaukee, Wis., is survived by a <BR>daughter, Jamie Leffler, 15, in Los Angeles and two brothers in <BR>Milwaukee. <BR>
