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Subscribe to RSSAmy Winehouse's rise to fame and struggles with addiction escalated on similar trajectories; that combination might be one of the things she's remembered most for, but when it comes to purely professional successes, her first might well be considered her "Back to Black" album. The musical effort won her five Grammys. Below, the title track from the album.
"I didn't go out looking to be famous," Winehouse told the Associated Press when "Back to Black" was released. "I'm just a musician." But between critical acclaim for "Back to Black" (as well as accolades in the U.K. for her freshman effort, "Frank") and her public battles with drugs and alcohol, the 27-year-old singer became incredibly famous. Among the songs she might be remembered most for is one that became a sad and tragic anthem of sorts, "Rehab."
The cause of Winehouse's death remains unclear. She appeared on stage during Dionne Bromfield's performance of "Mama Said" on July 20 at the iTunes Festival in London. You can watch her appearance below.
Crowds are currently gathering outside Winehouse's London home, and at a pub she frequented, The Hawley, in Camden. You can leave your remembrance of the singer below. You can also discuss Winehouse's death and music on Facebook.
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Slow day for news I guess!
Pretty nasty thing to say... Amy is dead.
I won the death pool!! Easiest money EVER!
There was no pool. You are a nasty poster.
Not a person to emulate or admire. An example of weakness and cowardice. Not a martyr or a legend or a role model. She is someone you don't want to be like. Do not revere her. Beyond pity and a total waste of talent. Just turn your eyes away, heed the lesson, and move on.
@MDHALL, it appears there are other "lessons" it would be good for you to learn as well...
@Christopher, we're all fools. And the biggest fools are the ones who don't know that.
@Dr. Cat
@MDHALL, it appears there are other "lessons" it would be good for you to learn as well...
@Christopher, we're all fools. And the biggest fools are the ones who don't know that.
God is perfect and we are fools in comparison. This is the beginning of wisdom, faith, humblenes and the true reason for mercy when we comprehend it.
Amy seems out to be a thinker and a singer all the way and someone who knows what she's saying.. even today there are Hollywood actors who do not know what they are playing at-by btheir role on and in the screen and contributing racism at any dimensions and terror in the world.. Allegory is a matter of being the key of todays postmodern global RULE BY WRATH AND CONSPIRACY and justifying upper-class actors ?INNOCENT?!!.. Fools are those did not know who got WTC twins down and served in the working patterns.
Thank you Dr. Cat!! In deed to say " tha't " above.
hey Steve3790279. Hope no one in your family feel's that way when you die from being an IDIOT. How mean can you be.. really are you that kind of person She is dead have some compasion. You will die alone if you arent already alone just for being stupid..... oh and unkind............
Goodbye, beautiful songbird.
She'll be remembered for both... but this death will just add legend to her legacy.. therefore an eerie irony to all of her songs. So, so sad.
I won the DEATH POOL!!! Easiest money ever......
No need to be an Ass RLB. She made some bad life choices but also some great music. Sad to see drugs and alcohol claim another victim...
I hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it is not a surprise. People laugh about drug use, say they can handle it at first, but it destroys lives. None of us are saints, we don't have the right to judge others. Amy made bad decisions and addiction took over. Drugs are not childs play. If there is something after this(?), I would hope she is at peace.
Another reminder of why I and many others are glad we got through out 20s and past drugs and booze. It's not an easy path.
Rest in Peace my dear.
Sadly, she probably won't be remembered at all.
She will be... What a terrible thing to say!
as a drug addict.... her drug addiction and death will over shadow her legacy.....just like all the rest...
when you think morrison, hendrix, joplin....you think dead drug addict...and what a WASTE of talent.
Actually I never think "dead drug addict" when I think of Morrison, Hendrix and Joplin - I think thank-you-for-the-amazing-music and I-wish-it-you-had-made-it-with-the-rest-of-us. And now I think the same of Amy. And I'm grateful I didn't miss any of them.
@Shosyn
Being a big fan of The Doors, I play them quite often. The last thing I think of when I think of Jim Morrison is that he was a drug addict. The word "genius" comes to mind instead. Many artists, musicians and average everyday people have had trouble with addictions. We all die. Drug addict or not. But at least those people you mentioned will be remembered for their great talent they shared with the world. Talent that is especially notable given the short time they spent on this earth.
Bashing someon like that is kinda rude guys. But on the other hand bashing a chemical substance into your nose and dying is kinda rude to your fans, because you no longer can contribute your talent to the world. I think when you have a gift like that you should take some responsibility. Also you can't coddle winehouse because in all honesty that sets a bad example for future children singers. Example "oh it's ok to do drugs because winhouse got love from her fans when she died from a probable overdose." Wake up people Winehouse should never be glorified for her actions.
money and fame isn't everything ...
Fame isn't, but money sure helps. It doesn't buy happiness, but at least it gives one the security that they have one less thing to worry about if they need a place to live, need food, medical care, or just about anything else.
Really sad. Rich or poor drugs can take anyone. I'm sorry she wasn't able to recover from her drug use.
Who among us did not see this coming?
Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones and Janis Joplin welcome one in a league of their own to the fabled "Rock and Roll Heaven"
At this news, the Earth must be spinning! Oh. Right...
More proof of Darwin .... even today.
RLB-1760053 and steve-3790279 — you should be ashamed of yourselves (you won't be, of course, being internet trolls, but you should be). May your friends remember you in the same manner when your times come.
Wow there is no sympathy on this site. You all seem to judge Amy Winehouse so easily. You must be so perfect. Shame on you.
R.I.P. We have lost a beautiful singer.
No sympathy for someone who wasted chance after chance after chance. Rehab? No, no, no, no. Remember? She fully EMBRACED her addiction. The only reason she ever went to various rehab clinics was due to family, her promoters, etc ... not on her own and never took it seriously. Why in the world would I feel sympathy for someone like that?
you are a no feeling jerk. drug addiction is a disease, not a choice. god help you gain a soul u ahole
It is a pity... Let the earth to it will be down... I am assured that simply there was no that person who would force it to live further.... It is sincerely a pity....
Blessings to her family at this time. Unfortunately, she lived by drugs and she died by drugs. There is plenty of help out there if one chooses to seek it. It is time we, as a society, STOP glorifying this type of behavior. If we did maybe fewer people would choose this way of life. Stop the memorials! Why should we rant and rave about "how great a singer/musician" she was... evidently she did not hold her talent as a worthy gift. She CHOSE above all else to be a drug addict plain and simple!
Talent? Maybe talent for SMOKING CRACK ....
She may have been able to smoke more crack than Charlie Sheen ... Now THAT'S talent!
I bet you kick old ladies trying to cross the street 'cause they're too slow, too...
Butthole.
She was given every chance in the world. She wasted EVERY SINGLE ONE of them. No sympathy for people like that. Zero. Nada.
md22mdrx, your talent seems to be putting others down... Sadly, that won't give your life much of a legacy, as you're competing with so many others in the world who have the same mundane talent.
Did she purposely wait until she was 27?
Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jesus Christ...all died (I believe) at 27.
After the debacle a month ago, where she walked off at that concert after not even being able to stand upright, I think everyone knew this was a matter of time.
Sad and tragic, nonetheless. And what a waste of true musical talent... She left a very small legacy, which is really sad because she was so damn good...
Van Gogh left a tiny legacy, but his work came out of it alright. But yes, all the musicians you mentioned died (don't know about Jesus) at 27. They gave a tremendous amount of work for that small amount of time, though, more than most will give who live to 80 or 90. Perhaps that's all the time they needed.
Jesus died at 33, and he was not a drug-addled rock star, but someone making a sacrifice, giving a witness. The legacy he left has affected every corner of the earth, even though some have applied it badly and used it as an excuse to harm others. Nevertheless, I'm sorry at the waste of life that comes from the death of Amy Winehouse. She was obviously a conflicted person, possibly a self-medicating bipolar like Charlie Sheen probably is. Unfortunately there are many people out there who may or may not be as talented as she was that we will never even know about who are going through the same thing. It is a deep pit to climb out of.
Anyone posting obnoxious remarks has a heaping helping of karma heading their way.
Fame killed this woman and of course substance abuse was the means. If you have ever struggled to help someone in such a circumstance you know this is often the way the book ends. She finally got what she wanted. A little peace and quiet. We see the News of the World scandal and though it is terrible it is hardly worse than the treatment celebs receive in the UK. Dogged every moment of their lives and for what exactly? To sell a rag? To crack a smile on someones face who has no life of their own? Always will be a mystery to me why people read such claptrap. It wouldn't be produced if there were no audience. Winehouse was one of their favorite targets. Her abuse issues creating numerous public spectacles.
Ms. Winehouse, just like so many extraordinarily gifted people, had contrasting weaknesses. She needed help but could find none of it. This reminds me so much of Kurt Cobain. Determined to die and everyone was well aware of that fact. They were both apparently so determined no one could stop the inevitable.
From her better days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pwo5mblugs
River of no return...indeed! Even here you can see she is disoriented, unable to lip synch correctly. But what was done in the studio was exceptional and sadly rarely captured. Wonder if there is much of her work that is unreleased? In the past few years it was apparently vey difficult to get her to record anything.
Yes it's true, we all have self-destructive impulses. Amy Winehouse was undone by hers. If only people in their teens and twenties would look at the long list of artists who have died from alcohol and drugs and think twice before ever trying it! They think it won't happen to them. They think they won't get hooked or harmed.
There are better ways to unwind, have fun, and summon the muse.
Sad to see such a talent gone far too soon. RIP, Amy.
I loved her songs and her singing. What talent! Some of these commenters need to understand that addiction is not a simple matter of free will. I would guess that she was genetically predisposed to addiction, which runs in my family too. I'm sad that she is gone.
It's not like we all didn't see this coming...
Amy Winehouse was a @!$%#in' junkie that could sing well, what else did you expect? She had everything I would need, and more, to be happy. But these woe is me, @!$%#in' celebrity, frankenstiens get no sympathy from me. I bust my ass 70 hours a week, at a good paying, respectable job...not everybody can be rock stars and sports stars. Not everybody can go to college and get the job where you get paid to sit on your ass, and make more money than people who do more work than you. The world needs people like me. Not childish, selfish, immature little bag o' bone gutter trash, who happen to have a unique and above average singing voice. I liked Amy Winehouse's music too, that is what is really sad, all that wasted talent...
Benji your jealousy is sick. I have worked at two jobs and raised four kids on my own but I still have enough soul to feel sad about young death.
Benji, I'm glad I don't know you---you would ruin anybody's day.
Just another DRUGGIE who killed herself. Supposedly we learn from our mistakes but the entertainment world never learns nothing. They love the drugs and they love killing themselves.
They love killing themselves? Because they did it before, and they really, really enjoyed it? Hmm. You're right though, they never learn nothing. Wait, did you mean they learned something? I'm confused by this whole post.
I feel bad for her but c'mon, let's face it...we elevate these people into god like figures, when really they are just scared little boys and girls who never learn...
How many people will remember her talent of singing ...
vs. her talent for smoking crack.
I think she'll be remembered MORE for her gratuitous smoking of the crack.