Today in Music History: Remembering Amy Winehouse
July 23, 2015
Today in 2011, Amy Winehouse was found dead at her north London home at age 27; the cause of death was alcohol poisoning. Known for her deep vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, jazz and reggae, Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was a critical success in the U.K., and her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to five 2008 Grammy Awards, tying what was then a record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made her the first British female to win five Grammys — including three of the general field "Big Four" awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 2012, Winehouse was ranked 26th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music, and the BBC has called her "the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation." One side of Amy Winehouse that was little known to the general public was that throughout her life, Winehouse donated her money, music and time to many charities, particularly those concerned with children.
Also, Today In:
1963 - High school student Neil Young and his band, the Squires, entered a studio in Winnipeg to record their first single, "The Sultan."
1966 - Frank Sinatra went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Strangers In The Night. The LP would be the most successful of his career, being certified Platinum for 1 million copies sold in the U.S.
1977 - Barry Manilow went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with "Looks Like We Made It," his third U.S. No. 1.
1979 - Iran's new leader, the Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, banned rock 'n' roll as a corruptive influence on the people, a decision that is said to eventually have inspired the Clash song, "Rock the Casbah."
1983 - The Police kicked off the North American leg of their 107-date Synchronicity world tour at Comiskey Park (now rebuilt as U.S. Cellular Field) in Chicago. The Police also went to No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with Synchronicity, which spent a total of 17 weeks at No. 1.
1988 - After 49 weeks on the U.S. album chart, Hysteria by Def Leppard went to the No. 1 position. In sharp contrast to that on the singles chart, Richard Marx went to No. 1 with "Hold On To The Nights," his first U.S. No. 1 single.
1994 - The International Astronomical Union named an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter after Frank Zappa, who had died the previous December.
2008 - A waxwork model of Amy Winehouse was unveiled at Madame Tussauds. The singer's parents, Mitch and Janis, revealed the model, "complete with trademark beehive and sailor tattoos," at the London attraction.
Birthdays:
Blair Thornton of Bachman Turner Overdrive is 65.
Martin Gore, Depeche Mode guitarist and keyboard player, is 54.
Slash (born Saul Hudson) is 50.
Alison Krauss is 44.