Should have gone to Rehab!
Amy Winehouse only released two albums. The debut, Frank, was heavily jazz-influenced and had one notable tune on it in the lead single Stronger Than Me. Even though it didn’t chart very well, it was what launched Amy and also won her an Ivor Novello, her first award.
What Frank did was make everyone sit up and take notice. Who was this new Jewish Jazz singer from London?
The debut came out in 2003. The now legendary follow-up, Back To Black, three years later. This remarkable album was recorded with Mark Ronson in five studios (Miami, three in New York, and London), and upon release instantly made Amy a superstar.
When I met the Island Records A&R man in charge of the album (Darcus Besee) he told me that what he learned from that album was to never rush anything and keep going until it’s perfect – Hence the five studios!
Darcus got it right, Back to Black is most likely the best British album released on this side of the millennium.
As always, this is down to the tunes on it. The five singles Rehab, You Know I’m No Good, Back to Black, Tears Dry On Their Own (heavily inspired by Ain’t No Mountain High Enough), and Love Is A Losing Game are all classics today.
The album track Me & Mr. Jones is pretty awesome too and let’s not forget Valerie, recorded around the same time and released as “Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse”, it would go on to be the biggest U.K. hit of the decade, played at every wedding since, sometimes twice!
Let’s also not forget the covers she sang in Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and I Heard It Through The Grapevine. Amy is one of those singers who could sing the phone book and we’d all love it, give her a great tune and she’s up there with Aretha.
Unfortunately, she never got to make her third album. Apparently, she wanted it to be reggae but her label didn’t like that idea. I did, can you imagine an Amy Winehouse version of Exodus? It would have been glorious…
On July the 23rd 2011, Amy Winehouse was pronounced dead from alcohol poisoning. She joined the 27 Club, an informal list consisting of musicians and actors who all died at this age, including Robert Johnson, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain.
Some people blame her husband, some the paparazzi, and some the new manager who according to rumours was also her dealer. Some even blame her dad.
What is clear is that we all lost one of the most talented singer-songwriters of our time in 2011. She should have gone to rehab.
Amy Winehouse Tunes | Related Pages
I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Learn to play I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, backing track, and video guitar lessons.
| Ebm | Ebm | Bb Ab | Ab6 Ab |
I bet you’re wonderin’ how I knew, ’bout your plans to make me blue…
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Learn to play I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by The Ronettes using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart and the original recording.
| A | A | C#m | F#m |
I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus…
Valerie
You can learn to play Valerie by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Eb5 | Eb5 | F5 | F5 |
Well sometimes I go out by myself and I look across the water…
Amy Winehouse on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Amy Winehouse tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not by practising scales or studying theory in isolation.
