Illustration by Ana Mouriño
Alcohol. Heroin. Cocaine. Crack Cocaine. Ecstasy. Ketamine. These were all of Amy Winehouse’s drugs of choice. She took them to excess, therefore rendering her Lithium treatment for bipolar disorder useless. She died of alcohol poisoning in 2011.
It’s fitting that Winehouse is most famous for her hit single “Rehab.” Lyrics: “They tried to make me go to rehab, I said ‘no, no, no.’”
On “Rehab,” Amy’s distinctive sultry voice is backed by horns, guitar and pianos. Soulful and glorious. The song appears on her second album “Back To Black,” which arrived with rave reviews. Rolling Stone called “Rehab” a “Motown-style winner with a banging beat and a lovesick bad girl testifying like Etta James about how she won’t clean up her act.”
Winehouse won 5 Grammy Awards in 2008 including Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. She ranked 26th on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women in Music.
Shortly after winning those Grammys, Amy reportedly entered rehab for a two-week stint. But it didn’t work. Upon discharge, Winehouse continued using. She reportedly stopped using drugs and binge drank instead.
Winehouse admitted her bipolar status in an interview that aired on “The Album Chart Show” on British television. She was self-medicating to the extreme. She also – in various interviews – admitted to self-harm and eating disorders.
Like so many of us who struggle with bipolar disorder, Amy Winehouse had comorbidities. Her saga is not unlike those in The Eccentrics, my upcoming book about those who struggle with bipolar and addiction.
But the music is amazing. From her second album “Back To Black,” Here she is at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards…
[MTV Movie Awards Performance]
Amy Winehouse – Rehab (Live MTV Movie Awards 2007) from Digitalwolf on Vimeo.
