Exclusive: Lady Gaga Says 'Amy Winehouse Deserved Better'
Both singers will appear on Tony Bennett's forthcoming 'Duets II' album
Comment 0
By Patrick Doyle
August 2, 2011 2:55 PM ET

Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse

Alo Ceballos/FilmMagic (Gaga), Dave M. Benett/Getty Images(Winehouse)

Lady Gaga was "really devastated" to learn of Amy Winehouse's death on July 23rd, she told Rolling Stone on Sunday while taking a break from recording a jazz duet of "The Lady is a Tramp" with Tony Bennett at a New York studio.

"It really affected me quite deeply," she said. "Isn’t it strange to say ‘She is,’ and now I have to say ‘She was?’ I’m just really glad that we got to admire her and tell her how much we loved her when she was alive. I hope she knows now in Heaven, where she is, how much we all loved her."

Bennett was the last to record with Winehouse, a duet of the 1930 classic "Body and Soul" in March at Abbey Road Studios in London. It will appear on his upcoming Duets II LP, out September 20th. "Everybody was apprehensive as to how it was going to go," he said. "But she was really the best of all the young artists that I met in the current scene in the last 10 or 15 years. She was really singing true jazz. It’s just too tragic. I wanted to talk to her and tell her that if she doesn’t stop she’s going to die. I wanted to talk her out of the drugs, but unfortunately I never had a chance to talk to her."

As she continued talking, Gaga's eyes welled up. "I’m a huge fan," she said. "She was my only hope when I was up and coming. Nobody knew who I was and I had no fans, no record label and everybody, when they met me, said I wasn’t pretty enough or that my voice was too low or strange. They had nowhere to put me. And then I saw her in Rolling Stone and I saw her live. I just remember thinking ‘Well, they found somewhere to put Amy…’"

Gaga added: "She’s really special.  She just gave me a lot of hope and she deserved a lot better than what people gave her. And I hope that the world learns a lesson from this. I really hope they do. Because it’s not her lesson to learn – it’s the world’s."
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-lady-gaga-says-amy-winehouse-de...

"death by misadventure."

Liquor was a factor for all of the '27 club'. It can kill you in massive quantities and/or mixed with drugs. No mention of drugs for Amy? She didnt want to go to rehab, but maybe it would of saved her if she did. I feel sorry that her friends and family just let her do what she wanted and didnt insist on rehab. In hindsight I bet they saw it comong and wished they did an intervention for her. I feel sad when I read this thread. Poor troubled Amy. RIP

How people die from drinking

As the news that Amy Winehouse died from alcohol poisoning traveled around the world Wednesday, some were shocked to hear exactly how much alcohol the late singer had in her system at the time of her death. According to a pathologist who testified during the inquest, Winehouse's blood-alcohol level was .416 when she died, more than five times the legal limit for driving. In both the United States and Britain, the legal limit to drive is .08.

Alcohol poisoning is caused by drinking a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time. It is not always fatal; depending on the person and the amount of alcohol consumed, alcohol poisoning may cause brain damage, liver damage, vomiting, nausea, or unconsciousness. Women are slightly more susceptible to alcohol poisoning than men, due to a lesser amount of fluid in their bodies. A person's age, weight, previous alcohol and drug experience, and the type of alcohol being consumed are all factors that may increase a person's chance for developing alcohol poisoning.

"You can drink alcohol faster than you can remove it from your body and that's when your blood-alcohol level goes up," says Robert Pandina, Ph.D., and the director of the Center for Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University.

According to the Mayo Clinic, it takes the body roughly one hour to metabolize a single drink but the definition of what constitutes a drink changes depending on the alcohol. A drink is defined as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor. That means that if Winehouse had been drinking hard liquor before she died it would have taken her body much longer to metabolize that than if she had consumed the same quantity of beer or wine. It's worth noting that police searching Winehouse's home reported finding three empty vodka bottles but it's not known if that's what Winehouse drank.

"If you keep drinking alcohol, it's not going to get metabolized any faster just because you've consumed more of it," explains Pandina. "Metabolism happens at a fixed rate until all the alcohol is processed."

Pandina calculates that a woman weighing approximately 110 pounds would have to drink between 12 and 13 ounces of 80-proof liquor in an hour to reach a blood-alcohol level of 0.40.

"It's still a lot but it's far less than people may imagine," says Pandina.

But the effects of alcohol poisoning can be felt long before a person reaches that point. A person may need medical attention with a blood-alcohol level under 0.2. Vital functions may start to shut down before someone reaches 0.25. Death is possible with a blood-alcohol level of 0.3. And that's without prior liver damage from previous alcohol or drug use. A person with a damaged liver is at higher risk for catastrophic or fatal alcohol poisoning because his or her liver cannot effectively metabolize the alcohol.

"The message is very simply when you know someone has been drinking and drinking heavily, don't wait," says Pandina. "It's quite possible to revive individuals even at very high alcohol levels and keep them from having catastrophic effects."

"Call the rescue squad, get them on oxygen, get them to the hospital so they can be properly treated."

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/26/how-people-die-from-drinking/?hpt=hp_t2

Are you sure only 12 or 13 ounces of liquor can kill you? I dont believe it's only that little of an amount.  When I was a bartender I saw some people can put down 12 to 15 drinks in a night, no problem. Lots of people drink that much. I figured she had to consume an entire 1 liter bottle to make it enough to kill her, or 2, or 3. Ive actually 2 seen people knock off a large bottle and didnt even have a hangover the next day, because they were so used to drinking alot. So I wonder how much liquor Amy was capable of drinking, but I bet it was way more than 12 or 13 oz.

I think the numbers in that article are based on the MINIMUM amount of alcohol for a person whose body cannot metabolize alcohol effectively.

Everyone is different.

Thanks Edith Grove for that article, Alcoholics have a very high tolerance for alcohol, it's like overdosing on a drug all the time, only we don't see it that way because Alcohol is legal, & socially acceptable, how many people die from a accident involving alcohol only alcohol isn't the reason why? if the person wasn't drinking, that would have never happened in a lot of cases, people do things when their drinking that they would call insane sober.

Drink and get over it.

Or don't drink.

I love to see the stars.

New Amy Album


Today it’s been announced that on the 5th December, “Lioness: Hidden Treasures“, the third album from Amy Winehouse, without question one of the most talented, original, and best loved artists to emerge in popular music for decades, will be released through Island Records.
Following her tragic passing in July, some of the producers and musicians who worked closely with Amy Winehouse, among them Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi,  spent time listening over the many recordings that Amy had made, before, during, and after the release of “Frank” and “Back To Black”.  It was said by all who worked with Amy that she never sang or played a song the same way twice. It quickly became apparent to Salaam and Mark that they had a collection of songs that deserved to be heard, a collection of songs that were a fitting testament to Amy the artist and, as importantly, Amy their friend.
The 12 track collection features previously unreleased tracks, alternate versions of existing classics as well as a couple of brand new Amy compositions, and has been compiled by long-time musical partners Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson in close association with Amy’s family, management and record label Island Records. “Lioness : Hidden Treasures” proves a fitting tribute to the artist, the talent and the woman and serves as a reminder of Amy’s extraordinary powers as a songwriter, a singer and an interpreter of classics.
The full tracklisting is as follows:
“Our Day Will Come (Reggae Version)” – reggae re-working of classic 60’s doo wop song produced by Salaam Remi. Recorded May 2002.
“Between The Cheats” – new Amy composition recorded in London in May 2008 for potential inclusion on album three produced by Salaam Remi.
“Tears Dry” – originally written by Amy as a ballad, this is the original version she recorded in November 2005 in Miami with Salaam. The later uptempo version  appears on “Back To Black”.
“Wake Up Alone” – the first song recorded for the “Back To Black” sessions. This is the one-take demo recorded in March 2006 by Paul O’Duffy.
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” – Amy’s beautiful reading of the Carole King written Shirelles classic. Produced by Mark Ronson and featuring the Dap Kings with string arrangements by Chris Elliott who did all the strings for Mark’s tracks on “Back To Black”. Recorded in September 2004.
“Valerie” - one of Amy’s jukebox favourites. This is the original slower tempo version of the Mark Ronson produced post “Back To Black” single. Recorded in December 2006.
 “Like Smoke” featuring NAS  – Amy and Nas became really good friends after Amy name checked the New York rapper on “Back To Black’s” “Me & Mr Jones”.  “Like Smoke” is finally Amy doing a song with one of her favourite artists. Produced by Salaam Remi. Recorded in May 2008.
“The Girl From Ipanema” – the first song the 18 year old Amy sang when she first went to Miami to record with Salaam. Salaam remarked that “the way she re-interpreted this bossa nova classic made me realise that I was dealing with a very special talent. Her approach to the song was so young and fresh, it really inspired the rest of our sessions.” Recorded in May 2002.
“Halftime” - Amy had talked to Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson of the Roots about working together. “Halftime” is a song that Amy and Salaam had worked on since the Frank sessions.  The result is beautiful. Recorded in August 2002.
“Best Friends” – “Frank” era live set opener produced by Salaam Remi. Probably the first song that early Amy fans would have heard live. Recorded in February 2003.
 “Body & Soul” with Tony Bennett - cover of 30’s jazz standard with hero Tony Bennett. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios London in March 2011 and produced by Phil Ramone. Amy’s final studio recording.
“A Song For You” - heartbreaking and emotional version of the Leon Russell classic made famous by Donny Hathaway. Hathaway was Amy’s all-time favourite artist and the song was recorded in one take, just Amy and her guitar, at her home in London during the spring of 2009 as she battled her demons. Produced by Salaam Remi.


[www.amywinehouse.com]

I was hoping that there would be more post-Back To Black stuff on there. About a year or two ago, record execs claimed that there was enough material for a new album and I thought that she had been recording in St.Lucia etc.

SoulPlunderer wrote on Oct 31^st, 2011 at 10:10am:


Maybe there will be - on a future release.

However, if something comes of it, the impression Ive got is that its something that would require a bit of work. I doubt the songs got much past the demo stage.

She was writing during that lengthy holiday in St Lucia a couple of years ago... dont think she was recording there, though.

Announced on Amy's Facebook page:

"Chris Moyles on BBC Radio 1 has the exclusive first play of Amy Winehouse's 'Our Day Will Come' tomorrow morning just before 8am…. Switch to Twin B on BBC Radio 1Xtra straight after to hear 'Like Smoke' featuring Nas. If you miss these plays you should be able to hear 'Our Day Will Come' across other UK stations throughout the day."

Lil-Brian wrote on Nov 2^nd, 2011 at 6:13pm:


That's certainly true about Billie. She was one of the all-time great vocalists. Tragic life story. I suppose Amy and her are similar in that sense. I was reading about a demo that exists of Amy siging "Ain't Nobody's Business" which Billie also famously covered. It's not on the Lioness album but it'll probably surface in some form in the next few years.

SoulPlunderer wrote on Nov 2^nd, 2011 at 4:27pm:



Here it is - http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16101973

Nice. She was 18 when she recorded this. Fucking hell.