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
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

LONDON, UK (ANS) -- 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.

Janis Joplin

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.

Elvis Presley

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.

Note: Having covered the London rock scene for several years in London, I saw at first-hand the pressures and temptations that many musicians face. They have to try and cope with all of the adulation and media attention and when their careers begin to slip, the tabloid press hounds them unmercifully and often they then resort to alcohol and drugs to try and deal with it all. Sadly, Amy Winehouse is just the latest in a long line of talented but tortured individuals that have discovered that fame and fortune do not result in happiness - in fact just the opposite. That only comes from one source -- Jesus Christ.

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Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly "Front Page Radio" show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel "Red Dagger" which is available this link.