Released days before what would have been her 40th birthday, Amy Winehouse: In Her Words is a new biography released by the late singer-songwriter’s family.
In the new book, several never-before-seen photos and handwritten notes by the neo-jazz icon herself are revealed.
Excerpt from Amy Winehouse: In Her Words
The following is an excerpt from the biography’s foreword, as written by Mitch and Janis, Amy Winehouse’s parents.
“Many artists talk about waiting for the perfect song to drop into their lap from the heavens. For them, writing is a labor of love, but for Amy, songs seemed to fall easily. Every now and then it was as if a lightbulb went on in her head. She’d disappear to a quiet place for a while and put together a few chords. A song would emerge, then a whole album. “How do you do it? Do you write the melodies or the lyrics first?” Mitch asked her one day. “Oh, come on, Dad! Everyone can do it!” she laughed. Except everyone couldn’t. That was Amy — she had very little understanding of just how brilliant she was. Famously in one interview, she said of Janis: “I thought everyone could sing, until I heard my mum.” It wasn’t until after Amy’s passing, when we started sifting through her writings and drawings collected from her early childhood, that we started to understand more of how, behind that casual attitude, Amy had been carefully honing her talent for years…”
The book includes several more anecdotes from Amy as well as insights from her family and friends. However, many fans will most appreciate new photographs of the late artist.
The book’s royalties go towards the Amy Winehouse Foundation, a charity created by Winehouse’s family 12 years ago on her birthday, September 14th, only weeks after she passed away. The foundation’s goals are to educate young people on drug and alcohol abuse, as well as to aid in the recovery of any and all who struggle with addiction.
