Police: Singer Amy Winehouse dies at age 27

**Rockntractor** · 07-23-2011, 01:19 PM

AP story
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...07-23-12-53-42

**txradioguy** · 07-23-2011, 01:23 PM

LONDON -- Amy Winehouse, whose beehive hairdo, exaggerated cat-eye makeup and singular voice made her one of the best known female British singers of this century but who apparently was unable to overcome longstanding problems with drugs and alcohol, died Saturday at age 27.

She was found dead at her apartment in north London, according to Sky News. Police are treating her death as unexplained.

Winehouse had a long history of substance abuse, including not only alcohol but heroin and cocaine. As recently as June she had to cancel a planned 12-stop European tour after appearing drunk and struggling to remember her own lyrics at the tour's first stop in Belgrade, Serbia.

Prior to beginning the tour, she spent a week at the Priory Clinic in London, which offers treatment for addiction problems.

Though she met repeatedly with personal obstacles, Winehouse always believed she would be able to overcome them.

"If I am backed up against the wall, I'll kick the sh*t out of it," she said. "If you can't sort something out for yourself, no one can help you."

It was hard to miss Amy Winehouse -- both for her talent and her unkempt appearance. The singer won music magazine NME's "Worst Dressed Performer" award in 2008 and 2009 and was named the third worst dressed British Woman by Glamour magazine, thanks to her unruly, upswept hairdo, over-applied black eye makeup and tiny tank tops.

Amy Jade Winehouse was born on September 14, 1983 and raised in the Southgate area of England by her mother Janis, a pharmacist, and her father, Mitchell, a taxi driver.

She developed an early interest in jazz from her father, who often sang around the house.

She attended the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School and the Sylvia Young Theatre School, but was expelled from the latter at 14, reportedly for "not applying herself" and piercing her nose.

Winehouse's debut album, "Frank," produced mainly by Salaam Remi, was released on October 20, 2003, when the singer was 20. Many of the songs had jazz influences, and all but two covers were co-written by Winehouse.

The album hit platinum sales in 2004 and earned Winehouse the Ivor Novello songwriting Award for Best Contemporary Song on her first single, "Stronger Than Me."

Winehouse released her second album, "Back to Black," in 2006. Her first to be released in the United States, the album included the single "Rehab," which Time named the Best Song of 2007 and Rolling Stone called the eighth-best song of the 2000s.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...se-found-dead/