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Quick Facts
- NAME: Amy Winehouse
- OCCUPATION: Entrepreneur, Songwriter, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: September 14, 1983
- DEATH DATE: July 23, 2011
- EDUCATION: Sylvia Young Theatre School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Southgate, London, England, United Kingdom
- PLACE OF DEATH: Camden, London, England, United Kingdom
- Full Name: Amy Jade Winehouse
- AKA: Amy Winehouse
Best Known For
Amy Winehouse won five Grammy Awards for her 2006 album Back to Black, and is remembered for songs like "Rehab," "Back to Black" and "Valerie." She died in 2011, at age 27.
Videos see all videos
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Amy Winehouse - Wild Nights (1:08)
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Amy Winehouse - Goals (1:10)
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Amy Winehouse - Having Fun (1:02)
Amy Winehouse - Wild Nights
Perez Hilton talks about what she'd do when she was unable (or unwilling) to perform.
Amy Winehouse - Goals
Sylvia Young remembers the first time she met Amy and reads an unusually prophetic letter written by the young star.
Quiz
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Play NowAmy Winehouse. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 01:11, May 26, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469.
Amy Winehouse. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469 [Accessed 26 May 2013].
"Amy Winehouse." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 26 2013, 01:11 http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469.
"Amy Winehouse," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469 [accessed May 26, 2013].
"Amy Winehouse," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469 (accessed May 26, 2013).
Amy Winehouse [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 26] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469.
Amy Winehouse, http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469 (last visited May 26, 2013).
Amy Winehouse. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/amy-winehouse-244469. Accessed May 26, 2013.
Synopsis
Born in London, England, on September 14, 1983, Amy Winehouse broke into the music business when, at age 16, a classmate passed on her demo tape. She signed her first record deal as a jazz vocalist, and her music later blossomed into an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, soul and R&B. Winehouse won five Grammy Awards for her 2006 album Back to Black, and earned acclaim for songs like "Rehab," "Back to Black" and "Valerie." Winehouse died tragically on July 23, 2011, at the age of 27,
Contents
Quotes
"I don't think your ability to fight has anything to do with how big you are. It's to do with how much anger is in you."
"I don't listen to a lot of new stuff. I just like the old stuff. It's all quite dramatic and atmospheric. You'd have an entire story in song."
from accidental alcohol poisoning.
Early Career
Amy Jade Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983, in the suburb of Southgate in London, England. Her father, Mitch Winehouse, worked as a cab driver, while mother Janis was employed as a pharmacist. Winehouse's upbringing was surrounded by jazz; many of her uncles on her mother's side were professional jazz musicians, and her grandmother was once romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott. Because of this musical background, Winehouse grew up listening to a diverse range of music, from James Taylor to Sarah Vaughan. At the age of 10, she became drawn to the rebellious spirit of TLC, Salt-n-Pepa, and other American R&B and hip-hop acts, and founded a short-lived amateur rap group called Sweet 'n Sour.
At 12, Winehouse was accepted into the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School, and a year later she received her first guitar. But by the age of 16, Winehouse was expelled for "not applying herself" and piercing her nose. That same year, she caught her first big break when a schoolmate and close friend, pop singer Tyler James, passed her demo tape to his label, A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. The opportunity led her to a record deal with Island/Universal.
Her debut album, Frank (2003), was a critically acclaimed mixture of jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize as well as two BRIT awards for Best Female Solo Artist and Best Urban Act. The debut single on the album, "Stronger Than Me," earned the new artist an Ivor Novello award. Frank also hit double platinum status.
During this time, Winehouse began developing a reputation as an unstable party girl, often showing up to her club or TV performances too drunk to sing a whole set. She also started a tumultuous, on-again-off-again relationship with music video assistant, Blake Fielder-Civil, who admitted to introducing Winehouse to hard drugs. In public, the couples' arguments often devolved into fist-fights and dramatic scenes. In private, their romance centered around drugs, alcohol, physical abuse and even self-harm.
International Star
By 2006, her management company finally suggested that Winehouse enter rehab for alcohol abuse. Instead, she dumped the company and turned the experience into the lead single for her second, critically acclaimed, album, Back to Black (2006). The song "Rehab," which discussed her refusal to receive treatment for substance abuse, became an instant Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, and earned the artist another Ivor Novello award for best contemporary song.
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