Singer Amy Winehouse dies tragically at 27

Story by The Takeaway. Listen to audio above for full report.

The music world lost one of its young stars over the weekend when Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home. The singer was known for her unique vocal style and unapologetic rock star lifestyle.

“My greatest fear is dying without anyone knowing of any contribution I’ve ever made to create music,” Winehouse said last January. “But that’s cool because I’ve made an album already I’m so proud of that, if I die tomorrow … I would still feel fulfilled in a way.”

Winehouse was 27-years-old, the same age of many of music’s legends who said goodbye to us far too early. They are known as the “27 Club” and they include Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.

Eric Segalstad, the author of “The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll,” says the self-destructive nature of these musicians is what draws the public’s interest. “We’ve always been fascinated with gore and fame and tragedy,” he told The Takeaway. “[Janis Joplin] told her biographer back in ’69 or ’70, ‘maybe my audience can enjoy my music more if they think I’m destroying myself.’ When we wrote this … Amy Winehouse was probably about 24 years old and already then we saw that this could be true for her as well.”

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