A Train Wreck Waiting To Happen - Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse is a young woman who is an incredibly talented music star, but was made famous for going off the rails.

Amy Winehouse was born in 1983 into a Jewish family who lived in Enfield, London. Her family had a mutual love for jazz music and her brother would always sing Frank Sinatra songs to her. Her grandmother suggested that she should be enrolled in a Theatre School to enhance her training when she was nine years old.

Amy Winehouse was given her first guitar when she was thirteen years old and started writing music the following year. She started working a year later and began singing with a jazz band. The boyfriend she had  at the time sent a demo tape out, which led her to sign up with record label Island/Universal under 19 Management, and a publishing contract with EMI, which was the start of her career as a music star.

In 2003 Amy Winehouse released her first jazz influenced album titled “Frank” and won critical acclaim. She was touted as one of the big music stars at the time. Her voice has been likened to Sarah Vaughan and Macy Gray as well as others of the same genre. It was selected for a BRIT Award in 2004 in the categories of “British Female Solo Artist” and “British Urban Act”. That same year she appeared on the Jazzworld stage at the Glastonbury festival. Amy Winehouse live is an unforgettable experience as she has a very distinct voice and she really belts out the lyrics.

Amy had a dramatic weight loss in 2005 after she had used drugs and alcohol and would have violent mood swings. In 2006 she got her act together and released her new album “Back to Black.” Her grandmother, who had a big influence on her life, died in 2006, which once again led to another foray into the world of addiction.

Amy Winehouse married in 2007 her on-off boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil, who had introduced Amy to crack cocaine and heroin. In the same year, Amy had to cancel many shows in the UK and Europe saying she was suffering from ill health and exhaustion, when in fact she had taken an overdose of heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and alcohol.

Soon after she was released from hospital, photos came out in the tabloids showing Amy Winehouse with her husband looking battered and bruised after a suspected fight between them. In January 2009, divorce papers were served on Amy citing “adultery.” Amy’s husband has stated that he wants a divorce so that he can have a fresh drug free start, but Amy is saying that she won’t divorce him because she feels they are too much alike.

Amy Winehouse was spotted holidaying in St. Lucia with aspiring young actor Josh Bowman in January 2009, and she declared that she was in love again and didn’t need drugs, but in an interview with her father in June 2009, he has said that she is gradually recovering but because of her heavy alcohol abuse it has caused her to take a step backwards in her recovery.

It would be a shame to see someone as talented as Amy Winehouse to throw it all away because of her addictions. We can only hope that she can recover and once again showcase her amazing voice.