MusicBox - Amy Winehouse - To be Frank
Oct, 7 2025
The starlet Amy Jade Winehouse was born on 14th September 1983 to Jewish parents in London. At an early age Amy had a natural love for jazz music as her family passed that down onto her.
By 1992 at age 9 she was encouraged to join Susi Earnshaw Theatre School which taught her the basics for vocal education and tap dance. She progressed to full time training at Sylvia Young Theatre School, however she was expelled at 14 for not applying herself and for piercing her nose but later these rumours surfaced untrue.
She also attended the Mount School, Mill Hill and the Brit School in Selhurst Croydon – dropping out at age 16.
It was clear that conventional training wasn’t going to suit Amy and after purchasing her own guitar and the onset of song-writing it was apparent she was going to be a solo artist.
In July 2000 she became the featured vocalist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and her influence at this time were artists such as Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Minnie Riperton.
The next couple of years were crucial for Amy to reach the public domain. After signing with Island her debut album – Frank - released 20th October 2003 was released to critical acclaim.
The years that followed her second album 27th October 2006 – Back to Black – saw her reach a gradual decline. Fractured relationships and heavy drug use made her performance level deteriorate. This is captured in the 2024 biographical drama film – ‘Back to Black’. The trailer follows –
However her classic album and the title track of the film remains her best work. Songs like ‘Rehab’, ‘Valerie’ and ‘You know I’m no good’ captured Amy at her very best. Referencing her real life experiences into her songs gave it that personal touch.
Please enjoy the following music video to ‘You know I’m no good’.
As you can imagine ‘Back to Black’ won a series of awards and it’s such a shame that she got involved in the wrong relationship and experimented with drugs otherwise she’d still be making great music and could have several more awards and albums under her belt.
Her last public appearance took place at Camden's Roundhouse on 20 July 2011, when she made a surprise appearance on stage to support her goddaughter Dionne Bromfield, who was singing "Mama Said" with the Wanted.
Winehouse died three days later. Her last recording was a duet with American singer Tony Bennett for his album Duets II, released on 20 September 2011. Their single from the album, "Body and Soul", was released on 14 September 2011 on MTV and VH1 to commemorate what would have been her 28th birthday.
A celebration of Amy is a collective home for fans at the following website link -
Amy had a unique look and sound that was so original yet contemporary for the modern era. Complete with her beehive hairdo, multiple tattoos, distinctive vocals and cool beats she was a force to be reckoned with.
Destined for stardom yet the struggles of fame became an overwhelming experience in which drug use gave a brief respite. Amy Winehouse has gone down in history for her rapid success and legendary status but we could have had so much more……..
^Alex Ashworth CCG Content Creator
