If you’re like me, before this summer you probably didn’t know much about Amy Winehouse, and you knew even less about her music. The only song of hers you knew was “Rehab,” in which she stubbornly rejects going into rehabilitation for her alcohol and drug addictions.
Winehouse, who died in July at the age of 27, was raised in a Jewish home in London, and if you watched the news over the summer, you could have seen pictures of her male family members wearing kippot to her memorial service. After she died, I decided to investigate her music. I figured it was the least I could do for someone who had battled a drug addiction, and lost.
I’m glad I listened. Her voice was clear, low and strong, and she sang real melodies – sometimes her own, sometimes others’ — that combine soul, R & B and jazz.
In two albums and numerous singles that won five Grammy awards, Winehouse recorded music ranging from a chilling but soothing rendition of Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” to a painful sounding “Valerie,” which was originally by The Zutons, along with numerous original works.
With loud, strong ballads like those, she managed to lure in an audience perhaps drawn also to her costumed, sculpted appearance, which almost seemed to anticipate Lady Gaga.
The first song I listened to was “You Know I’m No Good” from the album Back to Black. It had a nice, loud beat and was very melodic. Winehouse’s voice resembles a violin; it flows softly into each note. The music video for this song shows her in a love triangle with two men, but then she blames her boyfriend for it, because she warned him she was no good before they started dating, hence the title of the song.
The next song was a very famous song of hers, and my favorite, called “Back to Black,” also the name of one of her albums. Her voice sounds harsh and accusing, and the lyrics describe a breakup in the darkest of terms: “We only said goodbye with words, I died a hundred times, you go back to her and I go back to black.” I think these lyrics mean that just saying goodbye wasn’t enough closure for her, and when he left her for another woman, she went back to black, or being depressed. The music video for this song is in black and white, perhaps a philosophical choice, or simply meant to be artistic.
In “Tears Dry On Their Own,” Winehouse expresses her emotions with a range of different notes. You can hear the hurt in her voice while she sings about how dependent she used to be on her boyfriend, but now she’s fine and has dried her tears on her own. In the music video, while walking down a city street she’s bumped into and harassed by a man, but she ignores him and he eventually goes away. Then she passes a man who’s wearing a “The end is near” sign. Could this be a sign of Winehouse’s insecurity? In the beginning of the video, she’s sitting alone in a room full of empty beer bottles and admits to drinking.
Also, something interesting was that an ad for a rehab center popped up on YouTube when I was viewing Winehouse’s video.
On July 23, 2011, Winehouse was found dead in her home in London. Not knowing the cause of her death for certain, one would assume she died as a result of her long battle with drugs. Her death adds more power and depth to her song lyrics.
It’s a shame that only as a result of Winehouse’s death I listened to her music. I like her as an artist, and have some respect for her. She didn’t say no to rehab initially — in fact, she went four times, returning home from a visit just a week before her death. She acknowledged an issue and acted on it, but lost to her addiction.
To dislike her for doing drugs, for having a weakness, isn’t fair, and everybody has problems. Her death leaves a hole in the music world — one that may take a while to fill — because Winehouse was a unique musician. Her songs were powerful already, and only grew in poignancy and meaning with her death.
