Just short of two decades later, and Amy Winehouse remains an iconic pillar of British music. Redefining the industry with her attitude and swagger, her carefully crafted lyrics managed to be simultaneously brilliant, beautiful and ballsy.
The 20th of October will mark 19 years since the release of Amy Winehouse’s debut studio album Frank whilst one week later, on the 27th of October, we see the 16th anniversary of her ground-breaking album Back to Black. In modern media, we often look back on Winehouse’s career as a whirlwind, a true rollercoaster of emotions and events. However, it is so common and easy for the chaos of her personal life to drown out the raw talent in her music. Albeit her story is a tragic one, but crucially it does not negate her triumphs.
Her debut album sold over one million copies in the United Kingdom, earning it certified as triple platinum by the British phonographic Industry. Titled after one of her biggest influences in Frank Sinatra, MusicOMH’s John Murphy once described the lyrics of the album as “commendably feisty, and as the album title suggests, frank.” Often the album’s praises are unsung due to the astronomical waves made in her second album, but hits like 'Stronger than Me,' 'What is it about Men' and 'Take the Box' prove to be some of Winehouse’s most successful songs. Put best by Dan Cairns of The Times, the album is a “sit-up-and-listen debut.”
With that in mind, if for Frank you were intended to sit up and listen, for Winehouse’s second album Back to Black all anyone wants to do is curl up and shed a thunderstorm of tears. Growing up with my mum’s ‘Back to Black’ album CD on a loop in the kitchen, it was easier (and probably more appropriate) for young me to get caught up in the catchy tempo of 'Addicted' or listen in awe at the ballad ‘Back to Black’ but beneath the surface lies an aching voice. Winehouse’s melancholic lyrics reflective of her own life are some of the most creative and striking pieces of art of the 21s century. So much so, Cambridge University actually used the lyrics to Winehouse’s song ‘Love is a Losing Game’ for their 2008 finals exam, with students comparing the lyrics to a piece of poetry.
It's been over a decade since the world lost her, but her music and impact survives
It's been over a decade since the world lost her, but her music and impact survives. Aside from taking this time to talk about my own personal greatest of all time, my takeaway message stands as this: when remembering Amy Winehouse, do respect and acknowledge her complicated story, equally so, don’t forget the depth of talent she exhibited, and how much more she could have shared with us.