Soul Song - A Tribute to Amy Winehouse

Regan Worth

Blown away. I mean, everyone is saying they expected it, that she was headed that way, that all the drugs and alcohol would do her in. I did not expect it. Like Amy, I've had my drunken escapades. I even sang my own version of Rehab once, but that's a story for a different day. So maybe part of why I'm shocked is that me and Amy are so similar. But there's more to it than that. You see, Amy Winehouse is my muse.

The first time I heard her sing carried me back to a speakeasy in New Orleans. I must have been 21 or 22. Hanover and I were between adventures and we were kicking back, listening to my daddy play. A jazz singer took the stage, not a frail wrath like the girls who usually sang, but a curvaceous black woman. Her voice was throaty and full. I pictured that woman as I listened to Amy sing "Back to Black".

The first time I saw Amy's picture, I said "No way! That tiny young girl cannot have a voice that large." But she did. Her music resonates with my soul. And that's what I will remember about Amy Winehouse -- not the sad way she left this realm too young, but as the largest voice I've heard in recent years. Rest in peace, Amy Winehouse. Or better yet, may your soul sing forever.