Amy Winehouse Bio
Much can be said about Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s
flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press and tabloids
seemed to focus on her rowdy behavior and heavy alcohol consumption,
but fans and critics alike embraced her rugged charm and brash sense of
humor because of her distinctively soulful and jazzy vocals. Her
platinum-selling breakthrough album Frank elicited comparisons ranging
from Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Macy Gray and Lauryn Hill. And
interestingly enough, one can often hear aspects of each of those
singers' vocal repertoire in Winehouse's voice despite her strong
cockney accent and vernacular. Born to a taxi-driving father and
pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area in north
London. Her upbringing was surrounded by jazz. Many of the uncles on
her mother's side were all professional jazz musicians, and even her
paternal grandmother was romantically involved with British jazz legend
Ronnie Scott. While at home, she listened to and absorbed her parents'
selection of greats: Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, 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&B and
hip-hop acts of the time.
At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from stage school, she
caught her first break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and
close friend, passed on her demo tape to his A&R, who was searching
for a jazz vocalist. That opportunity led her to attain a recording
contract with Island Records. At the end of 2003, when she was 20 years
old, Island released her debut album, Frank. With contributions from
hip-hop producer and keyboardist Salaam Remi, Winehouse's amalgam of
jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop received rave reviews. The album was
nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize as well as two Brit Awards,
but its lead single, "Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award for
Best Contemporary Song. Following her debut, the accolades and
inquiring interviews appeared concurrently in the press with her
tempestuous ongoings. In 2006, her management company finally suggested
that she enter into rehab for alcohol abuse, but instead, she dumped
the company and transcribed the ordeal into the U.K. Top Ten hit
"Rehab." It was the lead single for her second critically acclaimed
album, Back to Black. This time around the music delved into the sounds
of '50s-'60s rock & roll, R&B, and soul with productions
divided between Remi and British DJ and multi-instrumentalist Mark
Ronson. ~ Cyril Cordor
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