Update #2: Sunday, July 24, Frankfurt, Germany, 17:13
TAKEAWAY: Amy Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011). The mega talented lady who chose death over rehab.
Here is a sketch I did of Amy Winehouse in 2008
I am not usually a fan of the type of music that pop divas produce and are known for. I have my Pandora set to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Diana Krall, Bernadette Peters, Nancy Wilson and Sutton Foster, for example. Of course, I will make an exception for Madonna, who would, from time to time, emerge with a song that appealed to me, especially when she turned to the movies (Dick Tracy) or the musical (Evita), but also her most recent video, 4 Minutes, with Justin Timberlake.
But, like Norah Jones, that Amy Winehouse had an impact on me. Each of her songs tended to take a detour into jazzy territory, and if she had a white gardenia on her abundant black mane, I could almost hear Billie Holliday singing the blues.
But life was mostly about the blues for the young Amy, who was found dead, at 27, this weekend.
The world has lost a major talent, a voice that , under healthier lifestyle circumstances, would have enjoyed a long and incredibly amazing career. In fact, she had that even at 27, and, in spite of her constant bouts with alcohol and drug problems. Just this summer she had cancelled her 12-city European tour after she was booed by crowds in Serbia’s capital Belgrade after appearing to be drunk. It was to be her last public performance.
A unique character
I have to admit that, in addition to her rich voice and her jazzy detours, I admired Amy’s courage to create her own persona, which I was always happy to recreate in my Moleskin notebook. There was Amy with that blond streak that zig zagged over her forehead, hints of Cruella De Vil, and the teased hair that took me back to the image I remember of Miss Peru (or was it Miss Paraguay?) when I covered the Miss Universe contest in Miami during my reporter days of the late 60s.
Most recently, I remember my daughter Elena’s reaction one day when I tried to hint that perhaps my granddaughter Sophia (Elena’s daughter) should be Amy Winehouse for Halloween. Sophia seemed slightly interested by the possibilities, but that invitation for mischief lasted only a few minutes.
While heaven——or wherever girls like Amy Winehouse go when they die——may gain the voice of voices to add to its choir, I know that here we will always remember her, her choice of music, her quiet rebellion, and, of course, that whole Amy Winehouse package: the made-for-caricature mountain of hair, the tattoos, the short retro dresses and those eyes of the cat woman hiding a zillion mysteries and inner demons.
Finally it was the demons who won, and who called her in.
Rest in peace, Amy. In life you emphatically said “no, no, no” to rehab, maybe in death you will give it a try.
(Rehab video by Amy Winehouse/YouTube)
New York Post, New York, USA
Las Ultimas Noticias, Chile
Boston Herald, Boston, USA
Clarin, Argentina
Correio, Brazil
Correo, Mexico
Correio Braziliense, Brazil
Los Angeles Times, USA
El Tiempo, Colombia
Estado de Minas, Brazil
Germany’s Bild am Sonntag, iBildView (for iPhone) edition
The New York Times, USA
A call to editors and designers
Please send me pdfs of your pages of tribute to Amy Winehouse to add to this blog. Thanks. Send directly to mario@garcia-media.com
Of related interest:
Amy Winehouse death ‘leaves gaping hole in our lives’, say family
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jul/24/amy-winehouse-death-family-statement
Razor sharp, Winehouse changed the music scene for ever
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/razor-sharp-winehouse-changed-the-music-scene-for-ever-2319530.html
An earlier blog post about Amy Winehouse:
My Moleskin: good for sketching that first idea or for explaining Amy Winehouse
https://garciamedia.com/blog/articles/my_moleskine_good_for_sketching_that_first_idea_or_for_explaining_amy_wineh