The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Amy Winehouse, R.I.P.

Text Size

Amy Winehouse, R.I.P.

By Aaron Goldstein on 7.24.11 @ 2:31AM

Singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home yesterday. As of this writing, her cause is death unknown. She was 27.

Despite her young age, Winehouse had a long history of alcohol, drug abuse, eating disorders and other health problems. Of course, abuse of alcohol, drugs and food are often symptoms of self-loathing. Even if one blessed with enormous talent (as was Winehouse with her singing voice) sometimes it isn't enough to overcome such feelings. Needless to say, Winehouse could not handle fame never mind cope with day to day living.

Winehouse only recorded two albums in her short career. First came the jazz oriented Frank which was released in 2003 and well received in the UK. Three years later, Winehouse released Back to Black which launched her into the stratosphere and earned her a boatload of Grammys. "Rehab" would become her signature song in more ways than one. Erratic live performances and an inability to record a follow up album would plague her during the last years of her life.

Yet this didn't prevent the legendary Tony Bennett from inviting Winehouse to record a duet with him at Abbey Road Studios for his Duets II album which is due to be released in September. Bennett lamented her loss stating he was "deeply saddened to learn of her tragic passing." He went on to describe Winehouse as "an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist."

Prior to her passing, Bennett had said that he enjoyed working with Winehouse more than anyone else on Duets II. Bennett said he and Winehouse were in sync after telling her she reminded him of Dinah Washington. Like Winehouse, Washington was an extraordinary talent who died far too young as well.

Perhaps now Amy Winehouse can find the kind of peace she never knew here.

View all comments (71) | Leave a comment

Sardonikus| 7.24.11 @ 4:15AM

Though sadly not surprising, this is a real tragedy.

I am an alcoholic myself, and am fortunate enough to have remained sober for four years now. Addiction is a monster that crouches in the shadows and waits to pounce on you when you're at your most vulnerable. It doesn't care whether you're male or female, liberal or conservative, gay or straight, etc.

While not a huge fan of her music, I have paid attention to Amy's struggle with addiction while dealing with my own. I really truly hoped she could somehow win through, despite all the setbacks. It especially broke my heart to see pictures of her when she was younger, fresh-faced, and pretty, then contrast these with more recent photos of her, in which, quite frankly, she looked already dead.

Addiction is something I don't wish on ANYONE. To those who currently struggle, no matter who you are or what you believe, I salute you and wish you the best.

RIP Amy Winehouse

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:07PM

Sardonikus,

I pray for your continued recovery from addiction.
I understand that as the Bible says, to that which overcomes us, to that we are enslaved. (2 Pe. 2:19).

We're all sin-alcoholics in one way or another till God sets us free and gives us the strength we need to escape our bondage. (He did same for me).

If you haven't called out to Him for His help yet, I strongly suggest that you do, as His promises are faithful and true.. speaking as one who knows.

I was so saddened to hear about Amy. I prayed for her, too. I so wished that someone in her family could have had her declared mentally incompetent so that she could be placed somewhere for recovery, but I don't know if the UK's laws are the same as ours.

And I do know that her family did try helping her, and ultimately, that it had to her wanting and deciding to quit.

I hope she saw the Mercy of God upon her demise.

Kingofthenet| 7.24.11 @ 4:16AM

A NEW member of the '27 Club'...The ONLY club no one WANT'S to party at...

Occam's Tool| 7.24.11 @ 4:50AM

She was a marvelous talent with horrible demons who badly needed help she was not forced to get.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:09PM

I'm truly saddened, O.T., and was wondering same. :^(

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 1:12AM

Well, New Zealand laws are modelled after Britain's, and somewhere among my textbooks I think I have their rules. Yes, one can be committed for CD tx. Problem is multifold. 1st, the shortage of inpatient facilities in the public system (commitments do not go private, I'm sure) means that most treatments tend to be done as outpatient. Secondly, the degree of pub culture in the Commonwealth (I got to know NZ's VERY WELL, and I'm a non-drinker), and the acceptance of intoxication there, is simply incredible to American eyes.

So there really wasn't the proper push. There could have been a request for Guardianship if the situation warranted it. This has worked really well for Britney Spears so far.

Margie| 7.25.11 @ 2:21AM

I read a few hrs. ago that the authorities found no drug paraphernalia at her home, and it seems to be an alcohol binge. Apparently she did have an assigned security guard for the past couple of years, but she told him she wanted to go to sleep and several hours later when he went to check on her she had already died.
So sad too because she had gotten healthier recently and just got a good report medically by her doctors.
I can just imagine her thinking it'd be ok to indulge a bit upon hearing that.
I wish her parents or SOMEBODY could have or would have done something.
It just is such a pity, and so unnecessary a death, just like they all are.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 2:45AM

See, Margie, you are a sweet person with lots of compassion. See why I like you?

Joseph| 7.25.11 @ 3:02AM

Margie is a true Jekyll and Hyde. You never know if you're going to get devil or angel.

Tina B| 7.25.11 @ 8:41AM

There is such a thing as righteous anger and Christ Himself showed this when the moneychangers began to do business inside the temple, His Father's house of worship. He also got very snarky with the Pharisees on other occasions when their legalism interfered with God's two Great Commandments:
"Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength," and "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Margie, I have found, is very loving in many circumstances. She also displays righteous anger on occasion. Her knowledge of appropriate Scriptures is amazing, and she is bold to share them at any time.

Her love of God leads her to anger in her passion to share Him with those who seem to hate Him without even knowing Him, and I have found myself to feel this anger/passion along with her,

Christ said He comes to separate the wheat from the tares (weeds) and the sheep (His) from the goats (Satan's) and his mouth is a Living Sword.

Thanks for encouraging and discipling me, Margie. God bless you and fam, hourly!

Joseph| 7.25.11 @ 2:51PM

It's deceitful of you to omit mention of Margie's many vicious posts.

Margie is not God even though she claims to speak for Him. You're just another useful idiot enabling her ugly behavior. Nothing Godly about that, Tina.

Floyd| 7.24.11 @ 4:52AM

I never feel bad when bad things happen to celebutards.

It's my only fault. Otherwise I am almost not quite perfect. :p

Dan| 7.24.11 @ 8:49AM

"Perhaps ... [she] can find the peace she never knew here."

Of course there is another possibility.

Perhaps she's in the infernal region, as a suicide, who satan finally claimed as his own.

What she did, her life of drugs and partying, the life she chose, she was the one who decided to pursue such a life, has ETERNAL consequences.

And I don't think saccharine sympathy is entirely appropriate right now.

Effectively this young woman killed herself, and what's more, led a life that was a sick billboard for young wannabes all over the globe. She in a weird, sick way, glamorized perverse pathology.

This is serious stuff here.

And I wouldn't want to be in her shoes when she confronts her maker.

Kingofthenet| 7.24.11 @ 1:33PM

NICE!!!!, So I guess that whole 'Let those without sin cast the first stone' was just for show?

P.S. She won't be meeting ANYONE, neither will you someday...

Dan| 7.24.11 @ 7:59PM

Hey twit, people enjoy rights, but error does not. Her BEHAVIOR was scandalous, and led others into a lifestyle that is, and has repeatedly proven itself to be, morbid and mortal.

And as for her not meeting "anyone," ----------------------- go ahead, bet the farm on it dude, ------------------- though I'm kinda sure you already have, haven't you?

People who go around stating such things almost invariably live a lifestyle where they have a vested interest in there NOT being "ANYBODY" up there to reproach them.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:11PM

We know she killed herself, but do you know the mercy of God?

Dan| 7.24.11 @ 8:01PM

What of the justice of God?

She bet the farm, she bet it all, and on what?

Do you really think people get to do whatever, and still get a pass when they confront the tallying up of all they've done.

This is serious shit.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 8:50PM

Dan,

No, I don't think anyone gets a pass. But I do know the mercy of God, and that we'll be surprised as to who we meet in Heaven that we didn't think would be going there.

Are you a Christian? If you are then you know that God can save a soul that is truly overcome in sin.. and He saves us when we are in the worst condition, and it's usually our own fault.

Did Amy have a chance to hear the Gospel before she died? I don't know. What if she accidentally O.D., we don't know. Even if she did kill herself, do we know whether or not God spoke to her heart before she died? No, we don't.

We just DO NOT KNOW, and all we can do is hope He somehow saved her spiritually.

Tina B| 7.25.11 @ 8:50AM

Just a comment,

Scenario: Christ on the cross, thieves to his right and to his left. One of the theives mocks Him. The other speaks up for Christ, and in the moments he hung there dying, he says,"Remember me when you get to your kingdom." Christs answer, "This day you shall be with me in paradise." No criticism of his past life, just confirmation that at his deathbed, his faith had led him to Christ and to join Him for eternity.
Wow, what a forgiving God, and what mercy.

As to Amy, we have no idea what her last conscious thoughts were. And God knows her heart, and God is both just, and merciful.

Who knows? He may have taken Amy at the perfect time in His timing, and saved her from even worse.

victor| 7.25.11 @ 1:02PM

Beautifully spoken Tina. God is both just and merciful.
Amen.
And it is fitting to bring up the thieves on the cross as an example.
The most godly man I have known in my short little life on this earth so far, the Christian I studied the Bible under for a couple of decades, well, he once made a little comment, (he's made many that I won't forget), he said that obedience comes in a moment.
Perhaps Amy was sorry for her sins right before she took her last breath.
I hope she's with God now, of course all we can say is that we here on earth just do not know.

To Tina & Occam,

Thanks for the kind words, I needed them.
To Joseph,
Forgive me for my language to you. I am human and I get angry when falsely accused~ and that I was

Margie| 7.25.11 @ 1:07PM

Oops, I did it again. That was me of course. When ever my husband posts or I post last, our names will stay in the box. Well, hubby posted in the wee hours this morn. and I just keep forgetting to check the box!
It really IS me!!

Deborah D| 7.24.11 @ 9:07AM

Alcoholism and addiction are devastating to those afflicted and their families. It's a terrible shame that this young woman -- the same age as my daughter -- could not find the strength to overcome her all-consuming demons. I'm thankful my husband was able to find the fortitude to walk away from his alcoholism and never look back. God bless this family as they struggle with the result of her death.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:11PM

Amen.

mike w| 7.24.11 @ 9:10AM

She was a skank that sang really bad music. She essentially killed herself. Why should I care any more about her than the poor productive souls who die every day?

Grzmlyk| 7.25.11 @ 11:13AM

You don't have to care. I don't know that she was a skank, but I do think she made her bed - and now she lies in it.

And you are right - you shouldn't care more about her than the productive souls who die every day.

But, as sad as it is that many productive souls die every day - and many not at their own hands - I think it's ALSO sad that Amy Winehouse couldn't cope with life.

I saw video of her last concert, when she was so wasted she couldn't even stand. Very, very scary. It was glaringly obvious that she wasn't long for the world.

Grzmlyk| 7.25.11 @ 11:26AM

BTW - I haven't heard much of her music, but, from what I've heard, she was the real deal, talent-wise. Of course talent is in the eye of the beholder.

Ragnar Knudsen| 7.24.11 @ 10:13AM

Maybe that Norwegian Guy killed her.

Just sayin'.

Oldefarte| 7.24.11 @ 11:06AM

I will defer to others here as to her possible talent level [as I'm no fan of screaming so-called SINGERS of the Joplin mode], but anyone who dies this young is sadly tragic. It should serve [bur obviously will not] as a warning to anyone of that age group of the deathly perils of drug addiction. The last two thirds of the triple mantra of sex, drugs and rock & roll is a killer combination for young people that toss their lives on its dungheap and do not attempt to make full use of the 10 talents that the Almighty gove possession to each of us at birth. It simply is a WASTE!!!!!!!!

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:15PM

An utter tragedy that never needed to happen. She had all the money in the world, talent, and success. But once hooked on powerful drugs that she allowed herself to do, she was overcome unto death.. it also goes to show us that having a lot of money doesn't fill the emptiness inside.
Only God's Spirit can do that.

Oldefarte| 7.24.11 @ 3:31PM

Right! I know that you more than most of us are aware of the biblical story concerning the ten TALENTS given to two individuals. Well, this poor unfortinate young girl sadly did not make proper use of her TALENTS, and instead allowed herself to be consumed by drugs. It just saddens me to no end!!!!!!!!

Dan| 7.24.11 @ 8:05PM

Why all the passive suggestiveness here?

She didn't "allow herself to be consumed by drugs," she SOUGHT out drugs, she desired to experience different drugged out states, she wanted to experience all that drugs had to offer. Addiction was the END of her pursuit, and something it's kind of clear she knew, and knew full well, was more than likely to result.

Long before she was addicted to anything, she was, in her very soul, DRAWN TO IT, drawn to it because of the whacked out weirdness of her attitude to life, to her body, to her "art."

She was an utterly lost chick. And that's what she always wanted to be.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 8:57PM

Seeking out drugs is allowing herself to be consumed, is it not?

And anyhow, the Bible says we are ALL ruined sinners ~ even if we don't take drugs!

None of us "deserve" God's forgiveness, but if we humble ourselves and ask Him for it, well, He knows our hearts, and forgives us.

She could have been so overcome (yes, her own fault), that she wanted out in her heart but in her body it was too late.

We do not know what God has done inside of Amy. I know a lot of Christians in this World that were praying for her. We pray for the people we hear and see about every day.
when an ambulance goes by, I pray for the persons inside. When I pass by an accident on the highway, I pray for the victims.
Once you've known the mercy and love of God, you know He can do anything in the heart of anyone.

That's where we're coming from.

Oldefarte| 7.25.11 @ 1:11PM

Dan, 'consumption by drugs' is an active, not passive occurance [drugs don't independently leap into one's mouth etc without a person's involvement]!!!!!!

solidground| 7.24.11 @ 11:44AM

Oh, puh-leeeze. Winehouse was an adult who chose to make bad decisions. There are far too many people who make good and wise decisions and still end up dead. Let's devote our attention to them, rather than to some cut-rate, self-hating, self-indulgent darling of the tabloid media.

Dan| 7.24.11 @ 11:57AM

When this woman was a teenager, ----------- did she aspire to a party lifestyle?

Did she WANT to do drugs when she was younger, BEFORE she was ever addicted to anything?

People lament her addictions, and rightly so, but what of her A PRIORI attitude and determination to enter a lifestyle, a world, a little, narrow universe, where her art wasn't just her songs, but her whole drug chic life.

I think Aaron Goldstein's post needs to be revised and expanded.

Who here thinks this woman avoided damnation after all she has chosen, and all too that she has rejected, namely, the normal, the ordinary.

EVEN what she did to her body was grotesque, and I'm not referring to the drugs, but the uglifying tatoos!

Kevin Dunn| 7.24.11 @ 12:29PM

Why the cliche that tyis skank was killed by "Demons." She was kiled by HERSELF

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 1:18AM

"Demons" is, of course, non-literal.

But, you know, the girl hurt. She was obviously by reports, and those seem to have been borne out by her death, a miserable soul. "Rehab," by the way, is an excellent song. The girl had a wonderful bluesy voice---she wasn't a screamer.

I've known some very wealthy people who were horribly unhappy.This passing on was hardly unexpected---I believe Ms. Lohan is due fairly shortly, herself, for example. But these people are inconsequential butterflies, and I don't enjoy their suffering as I did, for example, Yasser Arafat's.

Pecos| 7.24.11 @ 12:48PM

Money, fame, adoring fans, drugs, hangers on...
She had all the trapping that our culture shoves out there.
Somewhere in there the message is lost that life is precious and short. No one gets out of here alive.
I come from a long line of dead people, so I know how my story ends.

Wayne | 7.24.11 @ 1:05PM

Accidents are tragic. This doesn't seem like an accident to me.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:17PM

It's still a tragedy.. a life wasted on purpose.. even more so tragic.

Dan| 7.24.11 @ 8:08PM

What is tragic is that very probably she's forever apart from her only goal, which is her maker.

Hell, like Heaven, is real.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 8:59PM

True. But I don't presume to know if that's where she is.

Tintu| 7.24.11 @ 1:19PM

no one ever pays attention or gives a #### until its to late.. she was screaming for help for yrs in one way shape or another...its so sad the pressures of of fame put upon regular people.. She was a VERY talented singer, sadden that she didn't get the LOVE, RESPECT,and HELP she desperately needed!.. stop passing jugdement none of us are perfect...... RIP AMY WINEHOUSE

Real American| 7.24.11 @ 1:28PM

who cares? another junkie OD'd. no one would give a rip if she wasn't famous. time to end celeb worship. they don't deserve our admiration.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 2:23PM

I didn't worship her, I just prayed for her, and am truly saddened. Hopefully you yourself will never choose anything so horrible as drug addiction, but if you did, I would hope there were others to have mercy on you and try and save you.

"But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

And convince some, who doubt; save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of His glory with rejoicing, to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen." Jude 1:20-25.

GT| 7.24.11 @ 1:29PM

Who was Amy Winehouse?

PsychoDad| 7.24.11 @ 4:44PM

Who is John Galt?

GT| 7.25.11 @ 9:27AM

John Galt is a Plutocrat.

Skippy| 7.24.11 @ 2:34PM

Ave atque vale.

Bob Grant| 7.24.11 @ 4:07PM

I have no idea who she is. Couldn't pick her out of a lineup; or her work. I pray, however, the Lord has mercy on her.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 5:12PM

Bob,

I only knew about her from reading at the UK's Daily Mail online.
Drudge sometimes links to articles from there and that's how I found out about its existence.
It mixes news with tabloidism.
I wondered why she was so famous, like the Beatles or something, so I took a listen to a vid they had posted.
Not being a fan of modern day music, I had never bothered to follow anything new.
Well, her voice was like a combo of Sarah Vaughn, Etta James and Janis Joplin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related

Kitty| 7.24.11 @ 5:37PM

You'd never forget her if you saw her! She was blessed with a great voice and wasted it.

Dan| 7.24.11 @ 8:10PM

She was also gifted with above the average beauty.

And that too she wasted, in her pathological tattooing of her comely body.

Ugly music, ugly life, ugly tastes, ugly choices, ugly end, and of course, supremely ugly "art."

Kitty| 7.25.11 @ 6:22AM

I disagree about her music; I like it. I have several of her songs on my iPod. She wasted her voice by dying too young from an overdose (most likely). And if it turns out not to be an OD, then the drugs would eventually have killed her.

Margie| 7.25.11 @ 1:12PM

Her voice was wonderful, IMHO, too.

PsychoDad| 7.24.11 @ 4:49PM

Never heard her music, don't care to now. Never heard of her at all before she became the latest "tragic celeb going to rehab" media darling. First photo I saw of her, my reaction was, "Who or what is that hideous meth skank?" or something like that.

I am not one to take pleasure in the misery or death of others -with very rare exception* - but I cannot conceive that the world will be in any way a poorer place for her demise.

*such as the death of bin Ladin, and the impending record-landslide defeat, shame, and humiliation of the current occupant of the Oval Office.

Pete Brown| 7.24.11 @ 6:04PM

Addiction is hell for those who suffer and those around them. Each person who makes his or her way in recovery and sobriety is a light to all, addicted or not. It is a tragedy that Ms. Winehouse will never get to share that light. Rest in peace.

TruthSpeaker| 7.24.11 @ 7:02PM

'who badly needed help she was not forced to get'-
you cannot force a cure on someone - they must make that choice themselves.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 2:41AM

Dear Truth:

Not true---forced rehab treatment and voluntary seem to have the same outcomes and success rates. I spend a lot of time starting people on involuntary psychiatric treatment that they later thank me for. And I see a lot of them in my small town doing well.

Look up the success rate of involuntary rehab yourself. Don't take my word for it.

Subst Use Misuse. 2001 Apr;36(5):589-608.
Drug and alcohol offenders coerced into treatment: a review of modalities and suggestions for research on social model programs.
Polcin DL.
SourceHaight Ashbury Free Clinics, San Francisco, CA 94117, USA. DPolcin@research-hafci.org

Abstract
Outcome studies on drug and alcohol offenders coerced into treatment by the criminal justice system were reviewed. Positive outcomes were found for therapeutic community, methadone maintenance, and unspecified residential and outpatient programs. No outcome studies were found for court-mandated clients coerced into social model recovery programs. When developing studies, researchers should consider how clients perceive legal mandates and whether they are receiving pressures to enter treatment from other sources, such as family members, employers, friends or the welfare system. Use of the Social Model Philosophy Scale (SMPS) is suggested to correlate program characteristics and processes with outcome.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 2:43AM

You may not know this: I'm a board certified psychiatrist with extensive experience treating dual diagnosis patients, and I'm also certified as a suboxone prescriber for opioid addicts. I have a lot of professional experience with involuntary treatments for both CD and MI.

Margie| 7.25.11 @ 1:22PM

O.T.

I appreciate you and what you do so very much.
If only you could have treated Amy, maybe she'd still be with us.
I know for a fact what you say is true about involuntary treatment in so far as having the same effect as voluntary in having the same outcome.

I think they call it "tough love'".

It's when somebody loves you enough to take charge of you, because you're incapable of doing so.
It is pure love.
And God does this with our souls, too. He will take the worst of us and give us His Spirit, and resurrect our lives.
In fact, He says in the Bible that He delights in saving the lowest of the low.
Look what He did with the Apostle Paul, the man formerly known as Saul, who used to persecute Christians.
And you know why He delights in saving the lowest of the low?
Because we can give Him the most Glory!!!
"I once was lost, but now I'm found" kind of glory.

Heh, didn't mean to go into a tangent there but you know me!

God bless you, sir.
And thank you for all of the souls that you help.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 2:47AM

For example---forced treatment can sometimes allow the head to clear so they can think rationally. I don't doubt that you think you speak truth on this one---I just point out that human beings are not as logical as you think they are. Nor are cures always straightforward.

Occam's Mommy| 7.25.11 @ 9:16AM

Junior had forced treatment, but it just doesn't seem to have helped him.

Oldefarte| 7.25.11 @ 1:07PM

Quit hiding within your burka and declare your ID!!!!!!!

Margie| 7.25.11 @ 1:14PM

LOL, good one as always, sir!

Youngefarte| 7.25.11 @ 1:45PM

Oh Silly Father it is I, your bastard mulatto son from Detroit.

Mommy says,where's the support check?

When are you coming to visit me ?

Joseph| 7.25.11 @ 2:54PM

Is Margie your mom?

Paul McGrath| 7.24.11 @ 8:03PM

It makes me more than a little sad to see that there are many on this site--a site for which I have tremendous respect--who believe that this young person should be damned for eternity for her seemingly reckless actions. From a Christian perspective, none of us--none of us--are in a position to judge.

All we may do is to pray for her soul.

Tina B| 7.25.11 @ 9:05AM

Thanks, Paul, and I agree completely.

We are ALL sinners and some of our addictions may be perfectly acceptable in modern culture. Wealth, fame, beauty, sex, material things, TV, the Internet, Music, all of these are acceptable addictions today. Some may lead to death faster than others.

There is currently in the news a man who says giving up the internet is harder that giving up alcohol. For him. Might even be deadly, who knows what it will lead to. Family breakup, loss of job, money and respect. Same as alcohol/drug addictions.

May Amy rest in peace, regardless.

Bill| 7.25.11 @ 10:17AM

Unlike the deaths of many in the news that are characterized as "tragic," the death of Amy Winehouse is indeed a tragedy in the classic sense.

She was struck by some character flaw that she indulged through hubris and it led her into death.

That's Aristotelean tragedy in a nearly pure form.

It's too bad that she -for some reason- needed so badly to indulge her appetites. Those appetites and her need to feed them killed her before her time.