Image via WikipediaRetro-soul singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home Saturday. She was 27. That's the same age Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain were when they met their end.No cause of death has been determined by the local authorities, but there's a good chance Winehouse was a victim of the "too much and too manys": Too much drugs and alcohol. Too many rehab stints (though her best-known song was about refusing to go into treatment). Too many relapses. Too many broken promises to family, friends and her fans around the world.
Winehouse didn't have much of a body of work, but she did have one great album called "Back to Black" (the last CD I ever bought that wasn't a greatest-hits collection), in which she wowed the pop audience with her blend of jazz and R&B, sung in the style of 1960s-era girl groups. That is, if real girl groups like the Shirelles, the Ronettes and the Supremes had been allowed to express their sexuality like Winehouse did back then.
"Back to Black" and its lead single "Rehab" won several Grammy Awards for Winehouse in 2007, and that's been it. Since then, reports of her substance abuse, legal problems, hospitalization and erratic concert performances have overtaken her music.
What happened to Amy Winehouse should serve as a cautionary tale to Young Hollywood stars and starlets who party up a storm, do something really stupid, and see their lives and careers go up in smoke. Britney Spears, Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan and others . . . consider this your wakeup call.
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