PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

HIS OWN LITTLE DRUG WAR

Tony Bennett left his heart in San Francisco and became the darling of the
MTV generation in his 60s. And he picked up a drug problem along the way.

``At every big party I'd go to, people were high on something,'' the
72-year-old crooner wrote in ``The Good Life,'' about the heady Hollywood
days of the 1970s.

``Cocaine flowed as freely as champagne, and soon I began joining in the
festivities. . . . Compounded with my pot smoking, the whole thing started
sneaking up on me.''

By the late 1970s, he spiraled into a dangerous drug-filled low as his
personal life unraveled -- his mother died, his marriage was faltering and
the government was after him for back taxes.

``I found I was using drugs to ease my pain,'' Bennett said.

In 1979, when the IRS threatened to seize his home, he went on a binge that
nearly killed him. In the two decades since then, the eight-time Grammy
winner has risen to new career and personal highs, without drugs. His
latest album, ``The Playground,'' is being released this week.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski