27歲女作曲家及歌手艾美懷豪絲逝世 / Song Writer and Singer Amy Winehouse Dies at Age 27

I am really sad to learn that song writer and singer Amy Winehouse passes away at age 27. The cause of her death is yet to be determined.

I wrote a series of two articles about Amy Winehouse four years ago (see August 28, 2007 postings below) bemoaning the possibility that the Grammy Award winner might go the way of Janis Joplin and other performers who had died young:

Will Amy Winehouse perish like Janis Joplin?

軀体的紋身可隨時日冲淡消失,但心靈的紋身又会不会是永久不滅?

Unfortunately, her inner demon was too much for her to handle and the self-destructive force finally won.

I am heart broken by the sad news, but I want to remember her as a great song writer and singer, and that's why I am posting this YouTube video to mark this day when her tattooed life ended.

Rest in Peace, Amy Winehouse 艾美懷豪絲.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

艾美懷豪絲 (一): 命運開的玩笑?
Amy Winehouse (1): Hook, line and sinker - life's cruel joke?

1. Hook
在北美社会,上了毒癖或酒癮而不能自拔的人實在不少, 他們多是在年青時,禁不住好奇心,想扮cool「有型」,或家庭環境有問題,脫離了正常成長的軌道,或是生命有挫折,開始飲酒、吸大麻、或服食葯物。到了成年之時,有自制能力的還可以自拔,最多是逢場作興,偶一為之 (social drinkers, "recreational" drug users),但那些身和心抵抗力低的人就變了癮君子(addicts),生命完全受「物品」控制 (substance addiction)。

2. Line
就以23歲英國女歌手Amy Winehouse艾美懷豪絲為例,她天賦音樂天才,唱歌很有獨特的風格,前途實在不差,但問題就是她不能自控,毒癖和酒癮已開始毀壞她的聲譽,上月她以「身体欠佳」理由(at least that's her agent's line),取消了歐洲演出行期,跟着八月來北美的計劃又告吹,報載她可能因毒物O.D.(over dosed)問題而入治療院rehab。

3. Sinker
中國古語有云:『天將大任于斯人也,必先苦其心志,勞其筋骨,餓其體膚,行弗亂其所為,然後動心忍性,增益其所不能。』但如果在藝壇有了名氣,在公共場所的攝光燈、水銀燈照射之下,卻因私人理由,再不願擔負這個「大任」,想下台又容不容易呢?近代中、歐、美的明星歌手,在藝海浮沈,而始終逃不出自溺命運的實在不少,例如: 比莉哈樂黛Billie Holiday、瑪麗蓮夢露Marilyn Monroe、珍妮絲賈普林Janis Joplin、林黛、莫愁、陳百強等,他/她們都像墜落的彗星,在臨終前為覌眾發出了最大的光茫,在我們腦海中留下了一個不滅的印象。但他∕她們的短暫的生命,就是不是為了大眾娛樂而犧牲?是可惜,還是可嘆?

(Source: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/08/amy-winehouse-1-hook-line-and-sinker.html )

艾美懷豪絲 (二): 心靈的紋身
Amy Winehouse (2): Tattooed in the heart

我在YouTube取錄了艾美懷豪絲,19歲左右初成名時的音樂,和現在23歲少婦期的歌曲作一比較。在這短短四年之間,她的天賦歌喉沒大多變,天才仍在,但主題卻轉變了很多。

這是我最近買了的磁碟(黑色會)所載的歌CD / Here are the selected songs of Amy Winehouse's CD 【Back To Black】:

1.Rehab(戒了吧)
2.You Know I'm No Good(你知道我不好)
3.Me & Mr Jones(我與瓊斯先生)
4.Back To Black(黑色會)
5.Just Friends(只是朋友)
6.Love Is A Losing Game(愛是失敗遊戲)
7.Tears Dry On Their Own(淚已乾)
8.Wake Up Alone(孤獨醒來)
9.He Can Only Hold Her(只想抓住她)
10.Wake Up Alone(骯髒戰役)

Will Amy Winehouse perish like Janis Joplin?

軀体的紋身可隨時日冲淡消失,但心靈的紋身又会不会是永久不滅?

(Source: http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2007/08/amy-winehouse-2-tattooed-in-heart.html )

+++++++++++++++++++++

Related News Article:

Amy Winehouse found dead at her London home, aged 27

Described as a 'tortured soul', her death follows on a long list of 'rock stars' who also lost their battle with alcohol and drugs

By Dan Wooding

LONDON, UK -- Singer Amy Winehouse, 27, was found dead today (Saturday, July 23, 2011) at her north London home after a long battle against substance abuse.

Amy Winehouse

A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed that a 27-year-old woman had died in Camden and that the cause of death was as yet unexplained. The Brit and Grammy award-winner had struggled with drink and drug addiction and had recently spent time in rehab. Her record label Universal called her "a gifted musician, artist and performer", adding: "Our prayers go out to Amy's family, friends and fans."

The singer with a gravelly voice and eclectic style, is the latest in a long list of "rock stars" like Elvis Presley, Jimmi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain, as well as many others, who also tragically had a talent for self-destruction that finally saw their untimely deaths. In announcing her death, the BBC said that Winehouse had won comparison with some of the great female singers such as Sarah Vaughan and Nina Simone.

Amy Jade Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983 in the well-to-do area of Southgate, north London. "Her taxi driver father, Mitchell, was a jazz enthusiast and often sang songs to his daughter as she grew up," said the BBC. "She trained at the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School from the age of eight and, by the time she was 10, had formed a rap group with one of her best friends.

Amy battling her demons

"Winehouse later attended the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. She began writing music at the age of 14 and a former boyfriend sent a tape of her singing with a jazz band to an A&R man." The BBC went on to say, "Her debut album Frank, released in 2003, was described by The Times newspaper as 'earthy, warm, lived-in and astonishingly versatile.' "She co-wrote all but two of the songs and won praise for what one reviewer described as 'the cool, critical gaze' in the lyrics. "Frank was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize for album of the year in 2004, and Winehouse won the Ivor Novello songwriting award for best contemporary song with Stronger Than Me. "But it was the critical praise that followed the release of her follow-up album in October 2006 that propelled her to international stardom." Rehab, the first track released from Back to Black, reached number seven in the UK singles chart. The song, about her refusal to attend an alcohol rehabilitation center, generated huge publicity, with Winehouse frequently being photographed drinking on stage and in pubs.

In February 2007, she scooped the title for best British female at the Brit Awards and, four months later, she picked up song of the year at the Mojo Awards. Winehouse was again nominated for the Mercury Prize and went on to be named artist of the year at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November. But as her popularity soared, her health began to suffer and her behavior became more erratic. The singer had been plagued by problems with drug and drink addiction. It led to a contract with the Island/Universal record label and a publishing deal with EMI. "She appeared to be drunk on Channel 4's The Charlotte Church Show in 2006, and took part in Never Mind The Buzzcocks in a similar state," said the BBC. Amy Winehouse secretly married Blake Fielder-Civil during a trip to Florida in May 2007. Her weight plummeted during an exhausting schedule of promotional appearances and concerts in the UK and US. She admitted punching a female fan at a gig in London and attacking her boyfriend when he tried to calm her down. She confessed to self-harming and spoke of battles with eating disorders. And she shocked a journalist from US magazine Spin when she carved the name of then-boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil into her stomach with a shard of mirror during an interview. "It was a break-up with Fielder-Civil that inspired much of Back To Black," said the BBC story. "But she surprised fans, and her own family, when she secretly married him during a trip to Florida in May 2007. "In November of that year, there was further turmoil when Fielder-Civil was arrested and accused of inflicting grievous bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice." Winehouse herself was arrested and released on bail in December 2007 but no charges were brought against her. A month later she went into a rehab facility following the publication, by a tabloid newspaper, of pictures of a woman they claimed was Winehouse, allegedly smoking crack cocaine. She played a number of gigs in 2008 but it became increasingly apparent that the turmoil of her private life was having a severe effect on her ability to perform. Following a diagnosis of what could have been the onset of emphysema, she managed a creditable performance at Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday concert in June 2008. But her performance at Glastonbury a few days later was described by one critic as "dismal" and tabloid interest centered on an incident where she appeared to punch a fan. Amy Winehouse took some time off after a slew of festival appearances in 2008. In 2009, she was found not guilty of assaulting a burlesque dancer at a charity ball in central London. She made a low-key return to the stage in a surprise performance at her local pub in London in October 2010. Earlier this year, Winehouse was admitted for treatment at the Priory clinic in south-west London. Last month, she pulled out of her European tour after she was jeered at the first gig in Serbia for appearing to be too drunk to perform. For 90 minutes, she mumbled through parts of songs and at times left the stage - leaving her band to fill in.

"In her short career Winehouse gave us just a glimpse of what might have been, before she was undone by her own personal demons," concluded the BBC story. "But the songs she recorded, and the string of awards they brought her, served to underline what a talent she was."

Here is a rundown on some of the rock tragedies from garnered from : http://youknowyoucare.com/tag/amy-winehouse/

* Jimi Hendrix - Autopsy showed he asphyxiated on vomit after combining sleeping pills with wine.
* Janis Joplin - Probable heroin overdose.
* Jim Morrison - Cause of death listed as "heart failure"; however, no autopsy was performed.
* Kurt Cobain - Ruled as suicide by shotgun.
* Robert Johnson - Unknown, but typically credited to strychnine poisoning.
* Brian Jones - Drowned in a swimming pool. The coroner's report stated "death by misadventure."
* Ron McKernan - Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism.
* Jean-Michel Basquit - Speedbal overdose.
*Amy Winehouse - TBD - autoposy on the way.

Of course, there was also Elvis who died on August 16, 1977 in the bathroom at Graceland. After being found on the bathroom floor, Elvis was rushed to the hospital where he was officially pronounced dead. The coroner recorded the cause of death as cardiac arrhythmia. While true in the strictest sense (cardiac arrhythmia basically means that the heart was beating irregularly and in this case, finally stopped), the attending physicians deliberately omitted the fact that what had apparently caused Elvis' heart to beat irregularly and then stop was an overdose of prescription drugs. These drugs included codeine, Valium, morphine, and Demorol, to name a few. After this information was revealed, Vernon Presley, Elvis' father, had the complete autopsy report sealed. It will remain sealed until 2027, fifty years after The King's death. Elvis' body is buried at Graceland.