Oh Amy

This post is long overdue but because of all the activity here I hadn’t had a moment to sit down and ponder. Amy Winehouse is so entwined in my English experience that I can’t think about it without thinking about her. She seemed to be the reigning tabloid queen the whole time we were there. My buddy K became a fan when we were both still in St. Louis before I did. But now Amy’s Back to Black record is about the only one that the three of us could put on in the car and not want to kill each other. My fave – Love is a Losing Game, H’s fave – Back to Black, and A’s fave – Tears Dry On Their Own.


After her divorce she ended up for months and months in St. Lucia and my good friend and work colleague happened to be vacationing in St. Lucia at the same resort as her for a few weeks. My friend’s portrait of Amy was quite different than what you read in The Daily Mail or The Sun. She was just a young woman who loved to laugh and sing. Hearing these stories from St. Lucia made me happy. She seemed to be getting back to herself and I couldn’t wait to hear more music.

I’m afraid her best came out of suffering so it’s probably right that there will be no more music. I’m attaching here my favorite performance of hers. It was after a swirl of bad media attention that she showed up and performed my favorite at the Mercury Prize Awards.