Amy Winehouse won five Grammy Awards connected to her 2006 album ‘Back to Black,’ and is remembered for songs like “Rehab” and “Valerie.”
Who Was Amy Winehouse?
Amy Winehouse broke into the music business when, at age 16, a classmate passed on her demo tape to a record label. She signed her first record deal as a jazz vocalist, and her music later blossomed into an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, soul and R&B. Winehouse won five Grammy Awards connected to her 2006 album Back to Black, and earned acclaim for songs like the title track, “Rehab” and “Love Is a Losing Game.” Winehouse died tragically on July 23, 2011, at the age of 27 from accidental alcohol poisoning.
Early Life and Career
Amy Jade Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983, in the suburb of Southgate in London, England. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, worked as a cab driver, while mother Janis was employed as a pharmacist. In her early years, Winehouse was immersed in music; many of her uncles on her mother’s side were professional jazz musicians, and her father sang as a child with his family. Winehouse’s paternal grandmother was also once romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott. Winehouse grew up listening to a diverse range of music, from James Taylor to Sarah Vaughan. At the age of 10, she was drawn to listen to American R&B and hip-hop acts, including TLC and Salt-N-Pepa, and she founded a short-lived amateur rap group called Sweet ‘n Sour.
At the age of 12, Winehouse was accepted into the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School, and a year later she received her first guitar. But by the age of 16, Winehouse was expelled for “not applying herself” and piercing her nose. That same year, she caught her first big break when a schoolmate and close friend, pop singer Tyler James, passed her demo tape to his label, A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. The opportunity led her to a record deal with Island/Universal.
Debut Album: ‘Frank’
Her debut album, Frank (2003), was a critically acclaimed mixture of jazz, pop, soul and hip-hop. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize as well as two BRIT awards for Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Act. The debut single on the album, “Stronger Than Me,” earned the new artist an Ivor Novello award. Frank also hit double platinum status.
During this time, Winehouse began developing a reputation as an unstable party girl, often showing up to her club or TV performances too drunk to sing a whole set. She also started a tumultuous, on-again-off-again relationship with music video assistant Blake Fielder-Civil who admitted to introducing Winehouse to hard drugs. In public, the couples’ arguments often devolved into fistfights and dramatic scenes. In private, their romance centered around drugs, alcohol and physical abuse.
‘Back to Black’
By 2006, her management company finally suggested that Winehouse enter rehab for alcohol abuse. Instead, she dumped the company and turned the experience into the lead single for her second, critically acclaimed album Back to Black (2006). The song “Rehab,” which addressed her refusal to receive treatment for substance abuse, became a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom and earned the artist another Ivor Novello award for best contemporary song. The album was also a critical success, winning the artist a BRIT award for Best Female Solo Artist and a BRIT nomination for Best British Album in 2007.
Less than a month after her BRIT win, Back to Black made its American debut. It was an instant smash, hitting higher on the Billboard music charts than any other American debut by a British female recording artist in history. The album stayed in the Top 10 for several months, selling one million copies by the end of that summer, with “Rehab” becoming a top 10 U.S. hit as well.
Marriage and Erratic Behavior
In April 2007, Winehouse and Fielder-Civil were engaged. Winehouse revealed that her romance with the 23-year-old was the inspiration for several of the Back to Black tracks. The couple eloped and married on May 18, 2007, in a ceremony in Miami, Florida.
Winehouse, an admitted marijuana smoker, was dogged by reports of continued drug abuse and strange behavior. On August 8, 2007, the singer overdosed on several drugs and was hospitalized. First claiming exhaustion, Winehouse later told the News of the World that she overdosed after she had used a mix of heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, whisky and vodka during a bar crawl in London. The episode put a planned tour of North America on hold. The August 21, 2007, announcement indicated that Winehouse had been ordered to rest and was working with doctors to address her health.
Arrests and Cancelled Appearances
Winehouse’s European tour in the fall of 2007, however, was scheduled to continue. But while in Norway in October 2007, an anonymous tip led police to the star’s hotel in Bergen, where she was arrested and held in prison overnight for marijuana possession. Winehouse, her husband Fielder-Civil and a third unidentified person were jailed. The trio was released after paying $715 in fines.
In November 2007, Winehouse’s husband was arrested again for allegedly offering a $400,000 bribe to a bartender whom he had allegedly assaulted in June 2007. Following his arrest, Winehouse showed up in mid-November at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena to perform seemingly intoxicated and some of the crowd responded with boos and walk-outs. Winehouse canceled all concerts and public appearances for the rest of 2007, again citing “doctor’s orders.” A month later, Winehouse was arrested on suspicion of attempting to interfere with her husband’s case. She voluntarily reported to a police station and was arrested before questioning. She later blamed her husband’s legal woes for her inability to continue her tour.