Amy Winehouse

1
coolcat2022 said:
I still recall seeing Amy’s father on the news the day she died , selling her vests to fans outside and bragging about it on sky news!!
Click to expand...
duck me. If he really did do that, it's safe to say that all of that money stayed in his own pocket, which makes this move of his somewhat hypocritical...

news.sky.com

Amy Winehouse's estate sues late star's friends for £730k over items sold at auction

By putting the items up for sale in the auctions "in their own names and on their own behalf", the women are accused of retaining the proceeds of "Amy-related" items.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
I recently read both of Mitch’s and Janis’s book and the difference between them was so striking.

Mitch constantly trying to defend his behaviour and whatnot, only seemed focused on getting her back to work in her lowest moments.

Janis’s book was written so much better and had much more about her childhood (assuming because Mitch was barely there?) that showed that probably, sadly, she was always going to run into these problems. If it wasn’t Blake, it would probably have been someone else.

Her mum also wrote that Amy had told her quite a few years before Blake that she had tried smoking Heroin but her mum questioned how much of that was true.

I adore her music and I’m just so sad she experienced so much pain and sadness in her short life.
 
I loved Amy she was a star in the true sense of the word.
I do wonder how she would have fared in this crazy world today. Since she died anyone who is influenced by black music and her voice was Billie Holiday/Sarah Vaughan like in style and being white, would she have been accused of apporiating those artists, she was Jewish which is problematic amongst media types now and her song Stronger Than Me she sings about ladyboys so she would probably not be able to sing that because of transphobia. Oh boy how the world has slid of the rails in such a short time.
I'd like to think in true Amy style she'd stick her tongue out at them all and be unapologetic.
 
Blockster said:
I loved Amy she was a star in the true sense of the word.
I do wonder how she would have fared in this crazy world today. Since she died anyone who is influenced by black music and her voice was Billie Holiday/Sarah Vaughan like in style and being white, would she have been accused of apporiating those artists, she was Jewish which is problematic amongst media types now and her song Stronger Than Me she sings about ladyboys so she would probably not be able to sing that because of transphobia. Oh boy how the world has slid of the rails in such a short time.
I'd like to think in true Amy style she'd stick her tongue out at them all and be unapologetic.
Click to expand...
I think that’s a really fair point. What I would say about Amy though, is that she always acknowledged and referenced the black singers and musicians she was influenced by. She didn’t try to pretend she came up with it.
She’d talk about these singers in interviews, bringing them to the attention of a whole young audience. Her love and respect for the artists and the genres was always so clear.

Dusty Springfield was another white artist who got popular singing soul music, and she was the same, she got Motown acts booked on UK tv shows, and used her fame here to promote these amazing singers who weren’t yet known in the UK at the time. Again, it was all about her love and respect for the music she was influenced by.
 
Blockster said:
I loved Amy she was a star in the true sense of the word.
I do wonder how she would have fared in this crazy world today. Since she died anyone who is influenced by black music and her voice was Billie Holiday/Sarah Vaughan like in style and being white, would she have been accused of apporiating those artists, she was Jewish which is problematic amongst media types now and her song Stronger Than Me she sings about ladyboys so she would probably not be able to sing that because of transphobia. Oh boy how the world has slid of the rails in such a short time.
I'd like to think in true Amy style she'd stick her tongue out at them all and be unapologetic.
Click to expand...
She also of Russian descent and used to do private shows for oligarch types, so not sure how well that would go down now either
 
Warpaint said:
She also of Russian descent and used to do private shows for oligarch types, so not sure how well that would go down now either
Click to expand...

More than likely she would do what the others who continued to do it up until a few years ago did...ignore the people calling them out for it. Elton, Mariah and JLO were among a few who were constantly named and shamed but ignored those who said stuff and carried on doing it, only stopping 'officially' because of the war with Ukraine but I honesty wouldn't be surprised if some were still doing it but were more discreet and in a few years it will end up coming out.
 
She was very much proud of being Jewish.

The "ladyboy" line is just tacky and a rare lyrical misstep for her, but clearly jocular in intent. Indeed, much of her success was down to the direct relatable realness of her lyrics - instead of saying in a roundabout way "I'm pissed off with you", she'd simply come out with that.

As for her possibly being accused of appropriating black music if she was a new artist - most of the prominent "soul"/pop singers of the last decade or so are white. The "they're white but sound black" thing has gone on for some time now and is complete and utter PR bullshit, usually without any merit or basis in reality. Vocally, she was a bit too affected for me and certainly more Billie Holiday than Sarah Vaughan (Sarah had a very rich tone which was miles apart from Amy's). However, there's no denying that she had much more than a superficial interest in black soul & jazz singers, and she was very vocal and sincere about the influence of people such as Donny Hathaway.
---
Blockster said:
Oh definitely but that's enough in this current world to send them rabid.
Click to expand...
Come on, she's hardly Ricky Gervais or Dave Chappelle who seem quite obsessed with transphobia in their stand up routines.
 
Last edited:
PeteM said:
She was very much proud of being Jewish.

The "ladyboy" line is just tacky and a rare lyrical misstep for her, but clearly jocular in intent. Indeed, much of her success was down to the direct relatable realness of her lyrics - instead of saying in a roundabout way "I'm pissed off with you", she'd simply come out with that.

As for her possibly being accused of appropriating black music if she was a new artist - most of the prominent "soul"/pop singers of the last decade or so are white. The "they're white but sound black" thing has gone on for some time now and is complete and utter PR bullshit, usually without any merit or basis in reality. Vocally, she was a bit too affected for me and certainly more Billie Holiday than Sarah Vaughan (Sarah had a very rich tone which was miles apart from Amy's). However, there's no denying that she had much more than a superficial interest in black soul & jazz singers, and she was very vocal and sincere about the influence of people such as Donny Hathaway.
---

Come on, she's hardly Ricky Gervais or Dave Chappelle who seem quite obsessed with transphobia in their stand up routines.
Click to expand...
I'm no good at links but the rag of virture the Guardian did a piece on this particular track and said about this one line about 'you my ladyboy' and how it's not for today's world. I think you underestimate the sheer pettiness and lack of nuance alot of people within the media possess today and social media.
My comment was just an observation into how quickly things have changed, I think people can sing what they like by who they like, influence is a good thing regardless of colour that shouldn't matter one iota.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top