Amy: “All My Loving”

April 18, 2016 • 8:30 am

I’ve been spending a bit of time listening to Amy Winehouse on YouTube and iTunes (thanks to a friend for sending me files). She’s an interesting and tragic figure, but a lot of her music is splendid.

One thing I’ve noticed is the nature of the comments on her YouTube videos. In contrast to comments for other women singers who died early (Patsy Cline, and especially Janis Joplin, who died at the same age as Winehouse, also of drug and alcohol abuse), the comments for Amy express strong emotion: she was an “angel”, the word “love” and heart emoticons are often used, and there’s a general atmosphere that something went badly wrong with the world when she died.

Why the difference? My theory, which is mine (but not very novel), involves two factors. First, she was fragile: unable to withstand the pressures of fame (and, of course, having an addictive personality); that likely evokes feelings of tenderness and affection. Second, one gets the feeling that some commenters have a “rescue fantasy”: if only they, or somebody, could have done something, Amy might not have died. That, of course, is insupportable because the laws of physics dictated her end from her beginning.

But I do mourn her loss, and her music is often a revelation; she was a natural singer, putting every note in the right place. Example: this Latin-esque jazz version of the Paul McCartney song, “All My Loving,” performed with just a guitar accompaniment.  The video isn’t great, but the sound is okay. This was obviously recorded in the days before her tattoos and big hair. You can hear the Beatles’ recording here.

 

19 thoughts on “Amy: “All My Loving””

  1. In our lookism driven society, I cynically think that no one would call chubby Janis Joplin an angel because she was chubby. Only thin, even too thin girls can be angels.

      1. Well you may not think she is over weight because you have a more realistic sense of what that means but many people think even someone at size 8 is over weight. As a former anorexic, I’m acutely aware of the judgments placed on bodies, especially women’s bodies by other women.

        1. Diana, I’m glad you added the part about other women. My experience, and I’m getting kind of old at 63, is that very few men prefer very thin women. On the contrary I think most men like women who have some meat on their bones. Women shouldn’t look like little girls and very thin women, those who may be anorexic (I wouldn’t know without asking them and I wouldn’t know anything more after I asked), go one step further in developing bodies that look more like little boys. I can’t imagine thinking size 8 is too big. Taj Mahal years ago sent out notice with his song, “Big Legged Mamas Are Back in Style Again”. Maybe you didn’t receive it. Other than in fashion magazines, I don’t think they ever went out of style and I’d bet most men agree with me.

  3. Perhaps if people could have commented–and their comments recorded for posterity–years ago when Janis and Patsy actually died, their comments would have had the same weight and meaning. We have the ability nowadays to essentially record peoples’ reactions in real time.

  7. Prof CC (and anyone else interested),

    If you are enjoying Amy Winehouse, may I suggest another singer you might like:

    Duffy

    In case you haven’t heard her music, she was a huge break out star in 2009, a wonderfully soulful singer (if a somewhat acquired taste in some songs). She was supposed to be what Adele became, but Duffy made some missteps, and was also like Winehouse a “sensitive soul,” not taking to fame easily, and Duffy withdrew from the public. (Only recently releasing a couple new songs).

    Her big album was Rockferry, with “Mercy” being one of her biggest hits.

    For someone first checking out Duffy I’d suggest googling the videos for Mercy and especially for Warwick Avenue.

    Warwick Avenue is (of course) about a recent break up Duffy had, it’s one long take, a close up of her riding in a train (or car, or bus? Hard to tell). It’s a beautiful song, wonderful heartfelt singing, and video made all the more affecting because Duffy became overwhelmed singing it, thinking of her loss, and she ends up crying throughout the shot, so they just kept rolling. Any red-blooded guy wants to comfort that woman!

    (Admittedly I have a big crush on her).

    1. Thanks for the recommendation. I find her voice interesting, but somewhat irritating. Listened to several songs and felt ‘Rockferry’ was best. Don’t think I will add her to my favorites playlists though.

      Compare to this singer who has been compare to Joplin, Etta James, Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse (incredible vocal range).

      1. I’ve definitely heard of people finding her voice irritating in some way. I grew to love it, a bit like anchovies.

        I have never been able to bear any Janis Joplin, and I have to say Beth Hart doesn’t float my boat any higher. Not my idiom, I guess….

  8. I’m not sure what you mean by “putting every note in the right place”, but I did enjoy her version of the song. Did you notice that she changed the lyrics from “and hope that my dreams will come true” to “and hope that your drink will come true”? I was sure that I must have mis-heard her, so I went to listen to that part several times and it sure seems to me like she pointedly and carefully sang the word “drink”. That is odd and unfortunately, telling. I think I still hope I heard her wrong or she simply messed up the word.

  10. “That, of course, is insupportable because the laws of physics dictated her end from her beginning.”

    I am still trying to get a firm, coherent grasp of freewill and determinism, but a strong assertion such as this must make you a complete epiphenominilist?

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