Amy Winehouse's legacy is more than music

Music fans are mourning the loss of Amy Winehouse, dead at the age of 27.

Amy was a startling young talent with an amazing voice and a modern poetic sensibility. Although the reason for her passing on July 23 is still unclear, it’s very likely that her heavy use of alcohol and drugs played some part.

She, of the retro beehive hairdo, sometimes decorated it with a silk rose or those tiny umbrellas that people put on the rims of tropical drink glasses. And she was known for her contemporary eclectic mix of music that included jazz, blues and soul.

According to this latest news report, alcohol withdrawal may have played a part. Amy’s death is one more in a long line of musicians and entertainers who have been felled by addiction – a list that includes Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith, Mama Cass Elliott, Brian Jones, Heath Ledger and others.

The talented star struggled publicly for years with drugs and alcohol and she often sang about her bouts with addiction as her best-selling album “Back to Black” chronicles. One of her most well-known songs is “Rehab,” which is a sassy refusal to go into a treatment center.

Its tune is catchy and fun, and it disguises her defiance as clever rather than tragic song. We watch this kind of news with fascination and a bit of gossip. We are again reminded that fame and fortune are not insulation from the pain of alcohol and drug addiction.  

They have the advantages that most of us simply dream about. Yet they are enslaved by the drugs that do not respect fame or fortune, and people often consider their troubles as just one more part of the “entertainment” that they provide the world.

Some news media reports have questioned if Amy was able to receive quality care or if her handlers and managers wanted her to return to touring so quickly. Other reports point out that celebrities often use their money, fame and media attention to avoid treatment – like Charlie Sheen.

The truth is, people always find enablers of their disease. We also must remember that for every highly-publicized death from overdose, substance abuse or addiction, thousands and thousands of people in less visible positions also die.

Addiction –whether to drugs, alcohol or both – is a highly complicated disease that affects mind, body and spirit. Amy is gone now. But perhaps the best gift that she has given to us is the story of her life and the choices that she made – giving those of us who are left the opportunity to contemplate our reasons for the stories we tell ourselves and the choices that we make.