By Emily Harrison
Yesterday marked five years since Amy Winehouse passed away. Leaving behind a multitude of great jazz records and whip smart tracks, the late legendary singer belongs to a select club of musicians that have left us far too soon. Alongside greats such as Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, the mark Amy imprinted on the world was, and still is, undeniable.
To honour the troubled but always iconic talent, we take a look at a few of the tracks that proudly showcase her genius and her flair for poignant lyricism. Truth be told, we could have chosen her whole back catalogue, but the three songs that make the cut are Amy at her very best.
Back To Black from Back To Black
Coming from the album of the same name, Back to Black swings between tender melancholy and caustic poetry. Maybe her most famous track aside from Rehab, here Winehouse encapsulates the loss of love in searing style. With a chorus that seems to sweep away any false articulation, the sharpness of ‘We only said goodbye with words/I died a hundred times’ is as affecting now as it was ten years ago.
F*ck Me Pumps from Frank
Deliciously penned, F*ck Me Pumps is Amy’s ode girls who love to dig for gold. Hailing from her first studio album, Frank, the track is a neat diversion from her ever-soaring heartache. Smart, scathing and sarcastic, the lyrics are as biting as they are funny. Social commentary over a jazz score, lines such as ‘Every week it gets worse/At least your breasts cost more than hers’ lay testament to just what an adept songwriter Winehouse was. She would follow up this wit in her later tracks Me and Mr Jones and You Know I’m No Good.
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? from Lioness: Hidden Treasures
Although not an original, the emotion Amy brings to Carole King’s classic 1960 track is nothing short of spectacular. Originally sung by The Shirelles, the record has been reworked a number of times, but the version that finds itself on Lioness: Hidden Treasures is easy listening at its very best. With the genius of Carole King, Amy’s only job here is to sing. With depth and fervour in spades, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? is a chance to hear one of Britain’s true talents sing a classic track to perfection.
5 years on, the world still mourns the stunning, incredible talent that Winehouse brought to the music world.
