I mentioned Amy Winehouse’s death yesterday, but only as an afterthought in my commentary on Lucian Freud’s death. The backlash was swift and furious. Her fans made me realize I had shown unwitting disrespect.

However, my disrespect wasn’t in what I wrote but in treating it as an afterthought. I hope this commentary shows Winehouse the respect she deserves.

Remembering Amy Winehouse

Winehouse, a notorious drug user, died on Saturday. I respect those who rushed to post tributes. But, despite being a big fan, I did not. 

I was reluctant to write about her death for the same reason I’d be reluctant to write about Charlie Sheen if he died today. Their deaths were so predictable that commenting on them might seem like attention-seeking grief.

Frankly, there was nothing unique or pioneering about Winehouse. She had a great, soulful voice – for a white girl. But Teena Marie, a blue-eyed soul sister, had already done that. Winehouse even had more noteworthy peers like Lady Gaga, Adele, and Joss Stone.

Drugs fueled her fame

Sadly, what distinguished Amy and fueled her celebrity was her apparent determination to emulate Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain. That, of course, was by following their self-destructive path to early death. 

Like them, she died at age 27. But that alone is not reason enough to accord her the legendary status they earned. And for fans to hail her as the latest macabre ’27 Club’ member insinuates willful suicide.

Her life was a train wreck just waiting to happen. But many fans mourning her death found this perversely entertaining. That’s why her popularity and album sales were as much about her drug-addled lifestyle as her husky, smoke-tuned voice. 

An employee found her sprawled out dead in her London apartment, eerily similar to how a maid discovered Marilyn Monroe. Winehouse’s toxicology report is pending, but the police have already ruled out foul play.

Of course, a 27-year-old doesn’t just drop dead from natural causes. So it’s reasonable to deduce that Amy’s death was drug or booze related. 

May she rest in peace.