Timothy Luke Hopkins

Remembering Amy Winehouse

It is sad, and incredibly unfortunate, for anyone to lose their life at such a young age. Much to the music world’s dismay, she joins the growing list of famous artist to die at 27 — otherwise known as the 27 Club:

• Jimi Hendrix
• Kurt Cobain
• Janis Joplin
• Jim Morrison

Amy was a rare breed of artist, able to traverse the Atlantic Ocean into the American market from the U.K. seamlessly, howling melodic lyrics of struggling through addiction, rocky relationships and generally vivid accounts of scabs being unpeeled within every verse in her music.

She won five Grammys for Back to Black: Record of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Pop Vocal Album. She earned every bit of her accolades.

Unfortunately, many of those scabs exposed in Amy’s music were very true to life. Like many other fans and friends, while I felt sad for her passing, it was not ultimately surprising. Amy struggled in recent years with drug addiction. While we are still unsure of the exact cause of her death (initial police reports did not reveal that any substances were found near her body), it can be said that leading up to her death, her battle with addiction overpowered attention she gathered for the wonder she brought to music.

Her famous single, “Rehab,” touts her refusal to adhere to the traditional methods of rehabilitating drug addicts and depressed persons. Addiction is a very real disease. If you don’t believe it, sit in on an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. I have, and can vouch for the sheer magnitude of shared pain, struggle and mixes of hope and support from others experiencing similar feelings and experiences. That feeling is indescribable. Some people find themselves trapped in a downward path when they’ve centered their life on a single, deadly vice (drugs and/or alcohol, specifically). Fortunately, there are always support groups around to help those who wish to be helped get back on their feet. Unfortunately, it’s not easy for addicts to simply fall in line with the demands asked in the program.

Russell Brand, comedian and star of “Get Him to the Greek” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall (two movies I thoroughly enjoyed) wrote a very thoughtful, “real talk” post on Amy Winehouse, rehabilitation and “the call.” Definitely take a second to check it out.

To close, these are a few of my personal favorite Amy Winehouse songs:

• “Stronger Than Me”
• “In My Bed”
• “You Know I’m No Good”
• “Back to Black”
• LIVE at BBC Sessions 2007