
We can find many examples of singers, musicians and artists in general, who had a brief but very shiny career. The case of Amy Winehouse, though, was unique. From 2003, when her first album, “Frank”, was released, till her death in 2011, Amy Winehouse managed to achieve eternal fame. She won five Grammy Awards at 2007 and her album “Back to Black” still remains one of the best-selling in UK history.
Born and raised in London, Amy Jade Winehouse started singing and writing music and lyrics from a very young age. At the age of 17, she became the featured female vocalist of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Amy Winehouse was singing at the Cobden Club in London, when Darcus Beese, her future A&R representative at Island, discovered her by accident. In 2003, at the age of 20, she released her first album, “Frank”, and received critical acclaim. The album reached at number 13 in the charts.
Although she became quite famous in the United Kingdom, she would become globally famous in 2006 with her second album, “Back to Black”. “Back to Black” was more mature and more personal. Amy Winehouse based this album on her relationship with her then ex-boyfriend, who later became her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil. She explores several themes that can affect a relationship, including grief, guilt and infedelity among others. The album spawned five singles: “Rehab”, You Know I’m No Good”, “Back to Black”, “Love is a Losing Game” and “Tears Dry on their Own”. They all became global hits with millions of views on Youtube.
Amy Winehouse once said that: “When I was younger, I didn’t really listen to a lot of soul. But in the last year I got really into Motown girl groups. I liked Otis Redding from 14 or 15, but I listened to hip-hop and jazz for so many years. It goes jazz, soul, Motown, then hip-hop. Obviously, I’ve gone in the middle.” These inspirations were very clear on “Back to Black”. She became instantly a universal icon of pop and soul music, inspiring many artists such as Duffy, Adele and others.
At the same time, she had to deal with her own demons. Substance and alcohol abuse, mental illness and bulimia were there to hold her back. And the paparazzi took advantage of that, managing to photograph her on several occasions. Winehouse took orders and managed to get a court order against a leading paparazzi agency, but the damage had already been done. Winehouse had been violent towards others and police arrested her a couple times.
We can easily admit that “Rehab” was a “prophetic” song. Winehouse was fighting hard against addiction and went to clinics for rehabilitation. Unfortunately, she couldn’t win her addictions. On top of that, she started having respiratory problems. The last years of her life, she couldn’t perform as she used to and had to cancel several concerts. Before her death, she reportedly said, “If I could, I would give it back just to walk down the street with no hassle.”
Amy Winehouse only released two full albums while she was alive. But her captivating voice, her personal lyrics and the old-style, yet so modern, music, made her an icon. We will always remember Amy Winehouse and cherish the moments we danced and cried with her songs.