Amy Winehouse
The singer had a great influence on these music stars
Amy Winehouse would be 37 years old today.
© 2008 Universal Music
July 23rd marks the anniversary of Amy Winehouse’s death. Celebrities were also her fans, including Lana Del Rey and Adele.
Even though Amy Winehouse passed away on July 23, 2011 at the age of 27 – her music and memories remain to this day. She was best known for her unmistakable voice and the retro sound of her songs, which often reminded of the soul of the 1960s. Stars praised the artist for her incredible talent, including Tony Bennett (94) and Paul McCartney (79).
Amy Winehouse’s last recording was a duet with the world-famous jazz singer. “Body and Soul” was released on Tony Bennett’s album “Duets II” (2011). In conversation with “Entertainment Weekly” the American found words of praise for the late singer in 2011. “The really great with a lot of talent know how to turn jazz vocals into an unforgettable performance. Amy had that gift. The fact that she died at the age of 27 is just terrible for me.”
“Had she lived, she would be in line with Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. It’s just a tragedy,” he said. In the same interview, Bennett also said that Amy Winehouse’s greatest idol was, in fact, Dinah Washington (1924-1963). Accordingly, Winehouse referred to her as “my goddess”.
“Hey Amy listen up, you are really good”
Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney wanted to tell the soul singer at an encounter that she was “really good”, but missed the moment. To this day he regrets not having helped her in a situation in which she was obviously not in the best shape. “I knew she had a problem, but in the end I just said ‘Hello’ and she said hello. Afterwards I thought I should have run after her – ‘Hey, Amy, listen, you’re really good (… ) ‘”he said in 2018 in conversation with the men’s magazine “GQ”.
When Amy Winehouse was on her wave of success in the mid-2000s, soul stars like Duffy (37) and Adele (33) were still in their infancy. Both were traded as successors to Winehouse. However, it was not clear at the time whether they would become as famous as the star singer. Today we know: Adele in particular has made a name for herself, she experienced her global breakthrough in 2011 with “Rolling in the Deep” and is considered one of the most successful singers of the 21st century.
Adele: “I adored Amy Winehouse”
In numerous interviews, Adele came out as a fan of Amy Winehouse. You owe her “90 percent of my career,” said the 33-year-old in 2016 about the “Rolling Stone” about her idol. If she hadn’t heard Winehouse’s debut album “Frank” (2003), she said in 2015 she would not have written hits like “Daydreamer”, “Hometown” or “Someone Like You” the “iD” magazine: “I adored Amy Winehouse.”
After the singer’s death, Adele went through a “massive process of mourning as her fan,” she said. “I love Amy. I always have and always will. You know what makes me super sad? That I will never hear her voice again (…).”
Lana Del Rey was also devastated when she learned of Amy Winehouse’s death in 2011. In the same year she got her big break with the hit “Video Games”. “I had ten seconds to feel elated and then suddenly the news was everywhere. It was announced on all the TVs that Amy (…) had died and I said, ‘No!’. Everyone was watching, spellbound, but I had the feeling that I never wanted to sing again, “Del Rey told Mojo magazine in 2021.
Obviously, this feeling did not get out of hand: Lana Del Rey did not give up singing – and her success proves her right: since 2011 she has released six studio albums, each of which made it into the top three in her home country, the USA, Switzerland and Great Britain of the charts.