The music industry is a vast world. With so many genres, singers and bands, there is a lot that can be overlooked, especially when it comes to what inspires the music we consume.
Behind every great artist, there is a world we know nothing about – what makes them happy, what brings them to tears, what they struggle with and what drives them to create music. Many know the eccentric Amy Winehouse. Her bold lyrics speak truth and they hold a certain uniqueness of honesty and compassion that isn’t hard to spot.
Like any singer, there is always a meaning or story behind the song that’s produced. When you hear about celebrities in general and what they go through behind the flashing lights of paparazzi and peering eyes of the public, it’s automatic to wonder if those things influence what they do. It is no different with Amy Winehouse.
It’s hard to ignore that little voice telling you that her many addictions including, alcohol, cocaine, benzos, pills, xanax, heroin and any other drugs she could find did in fact influence the meaning of some of her songs such as Rehab.
Before Winehouse released her album, Back to Black, her former management team felt it best for her to seek help for her drug and alcohol abuse at a rehabilitation center. Winehouse however, didn’t see it as being that bad. The line “And if my daddy thinks I’m fine. They tried to make me go to rehab but I won’t go, go, go” is true. She did consult her dad about going to rehab, but he thought she wasn’t an addict and wouldn’t need something like rehab. He believed Amy drank because of her relationship issues and that rehab couldn’t fix that.
Winehouse had demons, but that didn’t stop her from being a very creative musician. In fact, when Winehouse was 12 years old, she submitted an application to attend Sylvia Young Theater School. She wanted people to hear her voice and forget their troubles even for five minutes.
There is often a correlation between addiction and creativity. It’s not an unlikely scenario when there is someone very creative but they struggle with addiction or have poor mental health. Amy Winehouse had a creative soul and sadly had many struggles that eventually led to her demise. Her music must not be forgotten. We must see her in a positive light and keep her addictions in mind but not define her by them.
Singers have a way of concealing the true meaning of a song they produce. Even though Amy Winehouse has passed, the memory of her still lives on through her music, where we, to this day, can still feel the beauty from her existing songs.
