Amy Winehouse

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was a British singer-songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. She was known for her distinctive contralto vocals, expressive and autobiographical songwriting, and a blend of genres including soul, rhythm and blues, and jazz. Her music, fashion, and public personal life made her a notable figure in popular culture.

Born to a Jewish family in Enfield, London, Winehouse grew up in Southgate in a jazz-influenced household. Her father was an amateur singer and taxi driver, her mother was a pharmacist, and several maternal uncles were professional jazz musicians. She attended Osidge Primary School, Ashmole School, the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School, the Sylvia Young Theatre School, the Mount School, and briefly the BRIT School. In her youth, she joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and worked as an entertainment journalist before her friend, singer Tyler James, sent her demo tape to an A&R scout.

Winehouse signed with 19 Management and EMI publishing before signing with Island Records in 2002. She released her debut studio album, Frank, on 20 October 2003. Produced mainly by Salaam Remi, the album was co-written largely by Winehouse and achieved critical acclaim and platinum sales in the UK. Its lead single, "Stronger Than Me", won Winehouse and Remi an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. The album earned Brit Award nominations and was shortlisted for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize.

In October 2006, Winehouse released her second studio album, Back to Black, produced by Remi and Mark Ronson and featuring the Dap-Kings. The album achieved international critical and commercial success, becoming the best-selling album in the UK in 2007 and one of the best-selling albums of all time. Its lead single, "Rehab", reached the top ten in the UK and US and won an Ivor Novello Award. Winehouse also collaborated with Ronson on the hit single "Valerie".

At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008, Winehouse won five awards, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best New Artist. This tied the then-record for the most Grammys won by a female artist in a single night and made her the first British woman to win five Grammys, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Winehouse died on 23 July 2011 from alcohol poisoning. Her career was documented in the 2015 film Amy and dramatised in the 2024 biopic Back to Black. In 2023, Rolling Stone included her on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time, and in 2025, Back to Black was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.