Amy Winehouse – Back To Black

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter known for her deep vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul (sometimes labelled as blue-eyed soul and neo soul),rhythm and blues, and jazz.

Winehouse’s 2003 debut album, Frank, was a critical success in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to five 2008 Grammy Awards, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made her the first British female to win five Grammys,including three of the general field “Big Four” awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

Winehouse won three Ivor Novello Awards: in 2004, Best Contemporary Song for “Stronger Than Me”; in 2007, Best Contemporary Song again, this time for “Rehab”; and in 2008, Best Song Musically and Lyrically for “Love Is a Losing Game.” She won the 2007 Brit Award for Best British Female Artist, having also been nominated for Best British Album, with Back to Black.

Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, aged 27. Her album Back to Black posthumously became for a time the UK’s best-selling album of the 21st century.In 2012, Winehouse was ranked 26th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women In Music.The BBC has called her “the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation.”

Amy Winehouse was born in Chase Farm Hospital in north London, to Jewish parents. Her father, Mitchell “Mitch” Winehouse, was a window panel installer then a taxi driver; her mother, Janis Winehouse (née Seaton) a pharmacist.

The Winehouse ancestors were Russian and Polish immigrants to London. Amy had an older brother, Alex (born 1979), and the family lived in London’s Southgate area, where she attended Osidge Primary School.

Many of Winehouse’s maternal uncles were professional jazz musicians.Amy’s paternal grandmother, Cynthia, was a singer and dated English jazz legend Ronnie Scott.She and Amy’s parents influenced Amy’s interest in jazz.

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