“Back to Black” Singer Amy Winehouse Found Dead in Her London Home, Rest in Peace (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on July 23, 2011
British singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at her London home today, she was only 27
Sad, but not at all surprising — in London, police report that British singer Amy Winehouse, the deeply troubled diva with a beehive hairdo who has struggled with her drug and alcohol abuse for many years, was found dead today at her home in in Camden Square in northern London.
Winehouse was only 27. No word has yet been released on the cause of death, but it is a suspected drug overdose.
May Amy find the peace in death that she never seemed to be able to find in life.
From CNN, Report: Singer Amy Winehouse found dead:
London (CNN) — Singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at her apartment in London Saturday, the UK Press Association reported. She was 27.
The “Rehab” singer had a history of battling drugs and alcohol and recently left a British rehabilitation program that a representative said was intended to prepare her for scheduled European concerts.
But she cut short the European concert tour in Belgrade, Serbia, last month after she staggered around the stage and stumbled through several songs.
From ABC News, Police: Singer Amy Winehouse Dies:
Amy Winehouse, the beehived soul-jazz diva whose self-destructive habits overshadowed a distinctive musical talent, was found dead Saturday in her London home, police said. She was 27.
Winehouse shot to fame with the album “Back to Black,” whose blend of jazz, soul, rock and classic pop was a global hit. It won five Grammys and made Winehouse — with her black beehive hairdo and old-fashioned sailor tattoos — one of music’s most recognizable stars.
Police confirmed that a 27-year-old female was pronounced dead at the home in Camden Square northern London; the cause of death was not immediately known. London Ambulance Services said Winehouse had died before the two ambulance crews it sent arrived at the scene.
“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 in the end, the music was overshadowed by fame, and by Winehouse’s demons. Tabloids lapped up the erratic stage appearances, drunken fights, stints in hospital and rehab clinics. Performances became shambling, stumbling train wrecks, watched around the world on the Internet.
Born in 1983 to taxi driver Mitch Winehouse and his pharmacist wife Janis, Winehouse grew up in the north London suburbs, and was set on a showbiz career from an early age. When she was 10, she and a friend formed a rap group, Sweet ‘n’ Sour — Winehouse was Sour — that she later described as “the little white Jewish Salt ‘n’ Pepa.”
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Released in Britain in the fall of 2006, “Back to Black” brought Winehouse global fame. Working with producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi and soul-funk group the Dap-Kings, Winehouse fused soul, jazz, doo-wop and, above all, a love of the girl-groups of the early 1960s with lyrical tales of romantic obsession and emotional excess.
“Back to Black” was released in the United States in March 2007 and went on to win five Grammy awards, including song and record of the year for “Rehab.”
News report from 2008 about Winehouse’s drug problems:
ITN: Singer Amy Winehouse in drugs arrest (May 2008)
From Mail Online, BREAKING NEWS: Amy Winehouse, 27, found dead at her London flat:
Amy Winehouse has been found dead at her home in London.
The Back To Black singer was found at the property by emergency services at 3.54pm this afternoon, according to sources, and her death is being treated as ‘unexplained’ by police.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police were called by London Ambulance Service to an address in Camden Square NW1 shortly before 16.05hrs today, Saturday 23 July, following reports of a woman found deceased.
‘On arrival officers found the body of a 27-year-old female who was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘Enquiries continue into the circumstances of the death. At this early stage it is being treated as unexplained.’
It is not known whether Amy’s father Mitch actually knows about his daughter’s death and Sky News have confirmed that he is currently on a plane to New York to take part in a Jazz festival.
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Winehouse had been working on her long-awaited new album, the follow-up to her 2006 breakthrough multi-million selling Back To Black, for the past three years.
Winehouse has had a troubled life which has included various stints in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.
In an interview in 2008, her mother Janis said she would be unsurprised if her daughter died before her time.
From Montreal Gazette, For singer Winehouse, ‘Rehab’ came too late:
LONDON, July 23, 2011 (AFP) – Her very public battles with her demons spawned her signature tune “Rehab”, but British soul singer Amy Winehouse’s self-destructive lifestyle finally caught up with her.
The 27-year-old singer, who was found dead at her north London flat on Saturday, will be remembered as a wildly talented musical star whose addiction to drink and drugs proved too much.
She seemingly headlined newspapers more often than concerts, most recently in June when she was booed at an open-air concert in Serbia as she appeared to be too drunk to sing at the start of a comeback tour.
Winehouse had reportedly ended an alcohol rehabilitation program in London two weeks earlier and local media reported that alcohol had been banned for the tour.
Amy Winehouse – Back To Black (Glastonbury 2008)
From ArtLyst, Amy Winehouse Dies At 27 Of Suspected Drug Overdose:
Amy Jade Winehouse has been found dead at her Camden square home of a suspected drug overdose. She was born 14 September 1983 and died 23 July 2011 her body was discovered around 4:00 pm today. Fans have flocked to her home and a vigil is ongoing out side with a massive outcry of emotion. The Back to Black star was an English singer-songwriter, known for her powerful contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of various musical genres including R&B, soul, and jazz. She has received publicity over her substance abuse and mental health issues.
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Winehouse has been credited as being an influence in the rise in popularity of female musicians and soul music and revitalising British music. Winehouse’s distinctive style has been the muse for fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld. The singer’s problems with drug and alcohol abuse, as well as self-destructive behaviour, have become regular tabloid news since 2007. She and her former husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were plagued by legal troubles that left him serving prison time. In 2008, Winehouse faced a series of health complications that threatened both her career and her life.
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[...] “Back to Black” Singer Amy Winehouse Found Dead in Her London Home, Rest in Peace (video) [...]
While the death of any person at such a young age is a tragedy, Winehouse’s passing should not be romanticized. She did not die for her art, or for the sins of society. She died because she was an addict and was unable to or unwilling to graple with both the physical addiction and the personal issues that lead to her addictions. She had people around her who tried to help, and there were brief moments when it appeared that she was starting to get a handle on her issues, only to backslide again. The sad fact is that for many of us who enjoyed her music but were deeply disturbed by her behavior, a premature death was not so much an issue of “if” but “when”. How tragic is it that when you heard her name mentioned in the news, your first instinct was to wonder if she’d died.
The fans who want to paint her as some kind of tragic heroine (no pun intended) do her legacy a great disservice. Her art should be admired, but her self-destructive nature that destroyed her art must also be regarded as a warning. If other young lives are saved because of Winehouse’s loss, then her life might indeed have a worthy legacy.