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Much can be said about the late Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press
andtabloids seemed tofocuson her rowdy behavior, heavy consumption of alcohol, and tragic end, but fans and critics
alikeembraced her rugged charm, brash sense ofhumor, anddistinctively soulful and jazzy vocals. Her platinum-
sellingbreakthrough album, Frank (2003), elicited comparisons ranging from BillieHoliday andSarah Vaughan to Macy Gray
andLauryn Hill. Interestingly enough, despite her strong accent and vernacular, one can often hearaspects of each
ofthosesinge ...read more
Much can be said about the late Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press
andtabloids seemed tofocuson her rowdy behavior, heavy consumption of alcohol, and tragic end, but fans and critics
alikeembraced her rugged charm, brash sense ofhumor, anddistinctively soulful and jazzy vocals. Her platinum-
sellingbreakthrough album, Frank (2003), elicited comparisons ranging from BillieHoliday andSarah Vaughan to Macy Gray
andLauryn Hill. Interestingly enough, despite her strong accent and vernacular, one can often hearaspects of each
ofthosesingers' vocal repertoire in Winehouse's own voice. Nonetheless, her allure had always been her songwriting --
almostalwaysdeeply personal butbest known for its profanity and brutal candor.
Born to a taxi-driving father and a pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area of northern London.
Herupbringing wassurroundedby jazz. Many of the uncles on her mother's side were professional jazz musicians, and even
herpaternal grandmother was romanticallyinvolved withBritish jazz legend Ronnie Scott at one time. While at home, she
listenedto and absorbed her parents' selection of greats: DinahWashington, EllaFitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra among others.
However,in her teens, she was drawn to the rebellious spirit of TLC, Salt-N-Pepa,and other American R&Band hip-hop acts of
thetime. At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from London's Sylvia Young Theatre School,she caught her first
breakwhenpop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed on her demo tape to his A&R, who was searchingfor
ajazz vocalist. That opportunity ledto her recording contract with Island Records. By the end of 2003, when she was 20 yearsold,
Island hadreleased her debut album, Frank. Withcontributions from hip-hop producer/keyboardist Salaam Remi,Winehouse's
amalgam of jazz, pop, soul, andhip-hop received rave reviews. The albumwas nominated for the 2004 MercuryMusic Prize as well
as two Brit awards, and its lead single,"Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award forBestContemporary Song.
Following Winehouse's debut, the accolades and inquiring interviews appeared concurrently in the press with her
tempestuouspublic life. Severaltimesshe showed up to her club or TV performances too drunk to sing an entire set. In 2006,
hermanagement company finally suggested that sheenterrehab for alcohol abuse, but instead, she dumped the company
andtranscribed the ordeal into the U.K. Top Ten hit "Rehab," the lead singlefor hersecond, critically acclaimed album, Back
toBlack. Containing evocative productions from Salaam Remi and British DJ/multi-instrumentalistMarkRonson, the
albumsomewhat abandoned jazz, delving into the sounds of '50s/'60s-era girl group harmonies, rock & roll, and soul.
Thefanfareover therelease was so great that it started to spill over onto U.S. shores; several rappers and DJs made their
ownremixes of various songs, notto mentioncovers by Prince and the Arctic Monkeys.One month after Winehouse won
BestFemale Artist at the Brit Awards in February 2007, Universal releasedBack to Black in the U.S. The LPcharted higher than
anyother American debut by a British female recording artist before it, and it remained in the TopTen for several months,selling
amillion copies by the end of that summer. Just as in the U.K., she became the talk of the town, landing on the coversofRolling
Stone andSpin magazines. Not long afterward, though, Winehouse canceled her North American tour. Early reportsrevealed that
she wasentering rehab foralcohol and drug addiction, but her new management denied the claims, stating itwas due to severe
exhaustion. Her erratic behaviorkept her andher new husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, in the tabloidsconstantly, on and off stages on
both sides of the Atlantic, but in late 2007, Americanfanswere finally given a chance tohear Winehouse's early work, with a
slightly abbreviated (two songs removed and one added) version of Frank.
Unfortunately, the next four years were filled with drama, disappointment, and very little music. By 2009, her marriage
hadended in divorce, shehadrepeatedly been arrested on assault charges and/or public order offenses, her struggles
withsubstance abuse and mental health issuestragically playedout in the press. Public performances turned into
incoherentdisasters, the worst of them posted to video-sharing sites for all tosee. A track on theQuincy Jones tribute Q: Soul
BossaNostra appeared in 2010, while a duet with Tony Bennett was announced in early 2011,but a planned follow-up toBack
toBlack would never make it past the demo stage. Winehouse was found dead in her Camden, London apartmenton July
23,2011. The coroner'sreport, delivered three months later, revealed that her blood alcohol content had reached a
potentiallyfatal level.
Nearly two months after her death, Winehouse's first posthumous appearance was released on Tony Bennett's Duets II,where
she dueted withBennetton "Body and Soul." Near the end of 2011, her family's foundation announced the release ofLioness:
Hidden Treasures, a posthumouscompilationfeaturing recordings from throughout her career (although a few of thearrangements
were recorded after her death). « hide |
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