Amy Winehouse enthralled anyone who listened to her songs. The poster child of a revolutionary mix of musical genres, the British singer and songwriter’s barebones voice captured the musical imagination of the whole world.
Born on this day in 1983, Amy died on July 23, 2011, from accidental alcohol poisoning. She was 27 at the time.
Today, on what would have been her 33rd birthday, Winehouse is being remembered on social media not only by her loyal fans but by the very people who had worked with her through her lifetime, as well as those who were inspired by her burst of genius.
Happy Birthday Amy X pic.twitter.com/m5yp8NY1eU
— Adele (@Adele) September 14, 2016
One of the first to commemorate Amy Winehouse was fellow British singer and songwriter Adele, who closely followed Winehouse’s footsteps when it came to stark vocal command and a sweep of Grammys.
In 2008, Amy Winehouse’s second album, Back to Black , (2006) won a record five Grammys, making her the first British woman to win so many golden gramophones.
Winehouse’s visa application, however, had not been approved, and the singer who won Best New Artist and Record of the Year performed her chartbuster Song of the Year winner “Rehab” from a location in England for the show.
Amy Winehouse, however, did not live a life that was all award nights and glitz.
Her music spoke of a level of mental suffering that seemed closest to the truth of her life — her tumultuous relationships with her family, her best friends, and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil.
Winehouse’s struggle with fame, which resulted in drug abuse and pushed her eating disorders to the forefront, stands as a reminder to musicians like Adele, who had often been compared to Amy.
Late last year, Adele spoke to Rolling Stone about the fears that Winehouse’s notorious fame instilled in her.
“Watching Amy deteriorate is one of the reasons I’m a bit frightened… I was fucking sad about it, but if someone showed me a picture of her looking bad, I’d look at it. If we hadn’t looked, then they’d have stopped taking her picture. That level of attention is really frightening…”
Morning all, to mark Amy’s birthday we are hosting @AmysFoundation event @CamdenMarket on Wednesday. Come down x RT pic.twitter.com/5KpMZe6dXz
— mitch winehouse (@mitchwinehouse) September 12, 2016
Winehouse’s father, Mitch, tweeted about an event hosted by the Amy Winehouse Foundation to remember the singer on her birthday and raise awareness of drug use and abuse.
The foundation, which was founded five years ago by Amy’s family, has been urging the British government to take its drug awareness program to a national level. Two days ago, on September 12, the Irish Examiner reported on the charity’s efforts to take its alcohol and drug prevention initiatives to schools across the country.
9/14 is a joint b-day for Nas & Amy Winehouse. ? ? ? ? pic.twitter.com/bPgWlkdWbC
— Moonlight ? (@softjunebreeze) September 14, 2016
A true icon whose story continues to be rediscovered, Amy Winehouse shares her birthday with infrequent collaborator and famed rap artist Nas. Amy was intrigued by Nas, and talks of a collaboration soon materialized into the two meeting.
News outlet Uproxx wrote on their unlikely yet possibly brilliant friendship , shedding light on the fact that Winehouse’s song “Me and Mr. Jones” was written with Nas in mind.
The article quotes Nas from an earlier interview where he speaks of their plans of a surprising cross-genre song after their hit Cherry Wine . The project that stopped due to Winehouse’s untimely death.
“We were working on a song… We were putting the music together. She was putting the words together, changing the words up a little bit. But, we never got a chance to record it.”
Amy Winehouse is remembered not only through the record sales, which have been steady five years after her death, but also through countless tributes by artists like Patti Smith, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, U2, Green Day, and many more.
Last year, the release of the Oscar-winning documentary Amy by Asif Kapadia drew attention once again to the life of a truly singular woman and singer.
As the messages reminding that Amy Winehouse is “never forgotten” continue keeping the maverick singer’s legacy alive, the image of a young Amy smiling at a camera from the back of her car — the image that closes the documentary film bearing her name — stands as a testament to the raw beauty of one of music’s greatest characters.
[Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images]
