Episode #94 | 1.25.22

Tom Petty: House Fires, Hiding a Heroin Habit, and Run-Down Dreams

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In this episode

When a mystery arsonist set Tom Petty’s house on fire in the late 1980s, he barely escaped with his life. But there was another danger looming around the corner — a heroin addiction that drove him into a pit of isolation from his family, his fame, and his bandmates. Petty barely hoisted himself of it. The Heartbreakers’ bass player, Howie Epstein, wasn't so lucky. After the first phase  of Tom Petty’s career burned to the ground, the stage was set for a descent into depression, dependency, and a triumphant turn-of-the-century return. 

 

Sources

Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes

Tom Petty's Daughter Insists Her Father Wasn't a Drug Addict Despite Accidental Overdose (People)

Tom Petty Reveals Struggles With Heroin Abuse and Heartbreak in Must-Read Biography: Exclusive Excerpts (Billboard)

This Day in Music Spotlight: The Heartbreaking Loss of Howie Epstein (Gibson)

Tom Petty Never Backed Down (Spin)

Howie Epstein Dies (Rolling Stone)

Former Tom Petty Bassist Howie Epstein Dies at 47 (MTV)

Tom Petty was a heroin addict in the ’90s. Here’s why he’s finally talking about it. (Washington Post) 

Carlene Carter, Tom Petty Bassist Arrested for Car Theft, Drug Possession (MTV)

The Day Tom Petty’s House Burned Down (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Tom Petty’s death is still a hard reminder for aging rockers about the downside of life on the road (L.A. Times)

Could Hip Surgery Have Saved Tom Petty and Prince? (Boston Globe)

Disgraceland is a podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. It melds music history, true crime and transgressive fiction. Disgraceland is not journalism. Disgraceland is entertainment. Entertainment inspired by true events. However, certain scenes, characters and names are sometimes fictionalized for dramatic purposes.

 

Music

Hosted by Jake Brennan.

Written by Victoria Wasylak, Zeth Lundy, and Jake Brennan.

Copy editing by Pat Healy.

Mixed and Engineered by Sean Cahalin.

Score by Jake Brennan.

Disgraceland theme song, "Crenshaw Space Boogie" written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.

*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak