Died On This Date (February 23, 2003) Howie Epstein / Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
themusicsover Howie Epstein
July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003
Before Howie Epstein became a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers he was playing behind John Hiatt in the ’70s (Slug Line, Two Bit Monsters), and Del Shannon in the ’80s. It was while working on a Petty-produced Del Shannon album, that Epstein was offered a spot in Petty’s band. He jumped at the chance and made his live debut alongside Petty on September 1, 1982. Four days later, he was playing in front of one of the biggest rock crowds in history at the legendary US Festival in Southern California. In 1988, Epstein met and began a romantic and professional relationship with Carlene Carter who was the daughter of June Carter and Carl Smith, and recently divorced from Nick Lowe. Epstein helped revive Carter’s career which included a Grammy nomination in 1991. Epstein was also building a solid reputation as a producer, even earning a Best Contemporary Folk Album Grammy for John Prine’s The Missing Years. Epstein died on February 23, 2003 from the effects of drug abuse, although not from an overdose.
John Fahey was an influential folk and blues guitarist who is revered for his minimalistic steel string finger-picking style of play. Fahey bought his first guitar at the age of 13, and by the time he was 20, he was making his own recordings. Besides his amazing guitar skill, what separated Fahey from most other musicians at the time, was that he started his own record label, Takoma Records through which to release while he was still just a teenager. Through all this, Fahey continued his education, eventually earning a Master’s degree in folklore from UCLA. As a musicologist, Fahey tracked down the long forgotten blues great, 
Kelly Groucutt is best remembered as a bassist and occasional lead singer for popular English rock band, Electric Light Orchestra. He played in the group from 1974 to 1983, the band’s most successful period. His talents can be heard on such classic albums as Face The Music, A New World Record, and Out Of The Blue. Groucutt released his only solo album in 1982. It included some help from a few ELO band mates. He left ELO in 1983, but participated in spin-off groups during subsequent years. Kelly Groucutt was 63 when he passed away on February 19, 2009. His death was the result of a heart attack he had suffered the previous day.
Miika Tenkula was the founding lead singer, guitarist and primary songwriter for Finnish death metal band, Sentenced. Originally formed as Deformity in 1998, Sentenced released several albums over the next seven years. The group broke up in October of 2005, and on February 19, 2009, Miika Tenkula died of a heart attack brought on by a then unknown heart defect. He was 34.