A Sad Goodbye To Amy Winehouse

Centerfieldmaz would like to pay its farewell respects to Amy Winehouse. The troubled, controversial English girl had her share of drama and sadly it all came to an end this weekend.
Winehouse was found dead at her home in Camden, London England on Friday, she was just 27. The cause of death is being investigated, no matter what the cause; another talented singer is gone way too soon.

She joins a long line of rock & rollers who have left us early & left a legacy. Through the years the term “the 27 Club” has been coined, in reference to some great artists who have passed at away at the age of 27. Some of my favorites like; Jim Morrison (the Doors), Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones (Rolling Stones), Janis Joplin, Pete Ham (Badfinger) & now Amy Winehouse, all have this strange age coincidence in common.

Winehouse was a great singer with some fantastic songs. I was first turned on to her by one of my favorite female singers; Ronnie Spector, while attending one of her shows at B.B. Kings night club in Manhattan. Spector mentioned that Winehouse was going around saying Spector was a big influence to her & praised her very highly. In return Spector said she’d decided she would cover one of her songs. Ronnie Spector covered “Back to Black” like it was made for her & the similarities in Winehouse’ voice to Spector’s had me hooked.

I immediately plunged into the 2006 Winehouse album “Back to Black” and loved it. The album included great songs like: “You Know I’m No Good”, “Back to Black”, “Rehab”, which won three Grammy Awards, “Tears Dry Up On My Own”, & Love Is A Losing Game”.

Winehouse combined rock & roll, jazz, soul, rhythm & blues, & pop music together in an eclectic mix with an back ground of modern beats. Her singing was captivating, very powerful & emotional with her raspy contralto vocals. Her music was like nothing else out in the popular music world today. It had an old style to it with a fresh modern feel. I went back to check out her first album “Frank” & found it to be outstanding as well.

The drugs & dramas of her life certainly turned many people off, & ruined some of her popularity. “Back to Black” was a huge success, going to Number One in many parts of the world, topping at Number Two on Billboard in America. Although she left behind just a small library her music will live on forever. Our prayers go out to her & her family, may she find peace in another life. As the old saying goes once again “If there’s a Rock & Roll Heaven, man they’ve got a hell of a band”.