Amy Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter who gained fame for her two full-length albums, Frank and Back to Black. Even though she died young, the impact of her legacy is immense.
Amy’s life and career have been the subject of several films and documentaries. The recent film, Back to Black, which stars Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse, is scheduled to release in the USA next month. Its director is Sam Taylor-Johnson, who is best known for projects such as Fifty Shades of Grey, Nowhere Boy, and more.
According to People Magazine, Amy Winehouse tragically passed away in her house in London on July 23, 2011, due to accidental alcohol poisoning. Reports suggest that when she died, her blood alcohol level was five times higher than the legal limit. Furthermore, Coroner Suzanne Greenaway stated that her passing was directly due to excessive alcohol consumption. Throughout her career, the singer suffered from issues such as addiction, substance abuse, and mental illness. After years of rehabilitation, her condition improved significantly. Not only had she quit hard drugs, but she was making progress in recovering from alcoholism. Unfortunately, she relapsed, which ended up taking her life.
The 2015 documentary, Amy, delves into the English singer’s life and struggles with drugs. Per MUBI, the project’s synopsis reads, “The combination of Amy Winehouse’s raw honesty and virtuosity resulted in some of the most adored songs of the modern era. But her massive success brought relentless media attention, which coupled with Amy’s precarious lifestyle, saw her life unravel.”
The director of Amy is Asif Kapadia, who is best known for documentaries such as Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Oasis: Supersonic, and more. He has also directed films like The Warrior, The Return, and Ali and Nino.
When was Amy Winehouse born?
According to Biography, Amy Winehouse was born to Mitch Winehouse, a taxi driver, and Janis Winehouse, a pharmacist, on September 14, 1983.
From a very young age, she developed an interest in music. Additionally, several members of the Winehouse family were professional jazz musicians. Even her father, Mitch, used to sing when he was a little boy and her grandmother had a romantic relationship with the legendary Ronnie Scott. Like most of her household, young Amy grew up listening to artists such as James Taylor and Sarah Vaughan. Eventually, she fell in love with American R&B and hip-hop projects such as TLC and Salt-N-Pepa. Drawing inspiration from these acts, she founded Sweet ’n Sour, an amateur rap group, that soon disbanded.
At the age of 12, she went to the coveted Sylvia Young Theatre School. A year later, she got her first guitar, but within 4 years, her school expelled her for piercing her nose and “not applying herself”. Interestingly, her father and Sylvia Young stated that Amy never faced expulsion from the aforementioned institution. Furthermore, one of her former English teachers claimed that the singer was a talented writer and could have had a career as a novelist or journalist.
Subsequently, Amy met the famous music manager Nick Shymansky, and her career took off all guns blazing.
Amy Winehouse’s career and achievements
After her introduction to Shymansky, Amy signed with Island Records at 19 in 2002. Initially, she was a jazz vocalist, however, she quickly began experimenting with electronic, pop, soul, and R&B.
Her first album, Frank, which came out in 2003, was met with commercial and critical acclaim. It had elements of pop, R&B, jazz, and soul, and was nominated for two BRIT Awards for Best Female Solo Artist, Best Urban Act, and the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. Furthermore, the song “Stronger Than Me”, made her an overnight sensation, for which she received the Ivor Novello Award. Additionally, Frank became a platinum album in the United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, it was during this time that she began using illegal drugs. Amy was dating Blake Fielder-Civil and the couple caused scenes in public several times.
In 2006, when the singer was battling heavy alcoholism, her management company advised her to enter rehab, however, Amy simply cut ties with the company and went on to create the album, Back To Black. Alongside the megahit song “Back To Black”, this album famously had the song “Rehab”, where she spoke about refusing substance abuse treatment. Back To Black became a best seller in the UK and Rehab achieved immense popularity in the US and the UK.
By the end of summer 2007, Back To Black had sold 2 million copies. Furthermore, the album earned the then 24-year-old five Grammys, including the Best New Artist award.
Mitch and Janis Winehouse released a statement after their daughter’s death
After Amy’s passing, her parents released a statement in which they expressed relief in finding closure regarding their daughter’s death.
Mitch and Janis Winehouse stated, “It is some relief to finally find out what happened to Amy. We understand there was alcohol in her system when she passed away. It is likely a build up of alcohol in her system over a number of days.” They further stated, “The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time.”
Amy Winehouse was 27 years old at the time of her death. From 2007 to 2009, she was married to Blake Fielder-Civil.
