Amy Winehouse

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was a British singer and songwriter known for her distinctive contralto voice, autobiographical songwriting and blend of soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.

Born to a Jewish family in Enfield, London, she grew up in a jazz-loving household and was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra as a teenager. She signed with Island Records in 2002 and released her debut album, Frank, in 2003; it was a commercial and critical success in the UK and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, and its single "Stronger Than Me" won her a first Ivor Novello Award. Her second album, Back to Black (2006), made with producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson among others, was an international success and became one of the best-selling albums of all time; its lead single "Rehab" reached the top ten worldwide and won her a second Ivor Novello Award, and in 2008 she won a third for "Love Is a Losing Game".

At the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008 she won five awards, including Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year, tying the then-record for the most Grammys won by a female artist in one night and becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys. Back to Black also earned her the Brit Award for British Female Solo Artist.

She struggled for years with substance abuse, mental illness and addiction, and died of alcohol poisoning at her home on 23 July 2011, aged 27. Her life was the subject of the documentary Amy (2015) and the biopic Back to Black (2024), and in 2025 Back to Black was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.