There’s no one who could ever compare to the infamous Amy Winehouse (R.I.P.) with her sassy soulful and sultry jazz vamp sound, but that’s just what I’m attempting to do with this article. Amy Winehouse’s influence reached across genres of soul, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, pop, and rhythm & blues, and her crazy life blended with an eclectic mix of ups and downs led her to stardom, drugs and eventual death.
As some have said, “her musical formation went through listening to such jazz divas as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan; she was later influenced by contemporary metropolitan popular music as well. She represented a union of these aesthetics: a happy fusion of ’40s jazz, ’60s soul and hard texts inspired by daily life.” -Lastfm.com
At least her music still lives on, but since her passing not many artists have stepped up to the plate to take on anything like Amy did except for a few artists bold and courageous enough to not only nail that soulful-sultry-sassy voice, but take their music to another genre bending level.
Here are a few that I believe have done a great job at capturing Ms. Winehouse’s sound:
Virginia “Gin” Wigmore might win it in my book; this blonde bombshell heavily tattooed Kiwi (hailing from New Zealand) with a super raspy, raw, and sultry voice- and an attitude to boot- give her the added edge to put her at the top of this list. Her voice has been compared to Amy Winehouse’s as well as Macy Gray, Adele, Lilly Allen, and Lana Del Rey’s, who incidentally, have all made this list. Gin Wigmore’s new album Gravel &Wine; will be released on March 25, 2013. Davey Boy from sputnikmusic.com said Gin Wigmore’s 2010 debut album Holy Smoke was diverse including a pop/nu-soul sound. Read his review here. You’ve got to listen to these songs to get what I mean: “Black Sheep”, “Devil In Me”, “Man Like That”, and “Dying Day” . Also, if you’d like to learn more about her, here’s Gin Wigmore’s website.
Next in line is the goddaughter of Amy Winehouse, Dionne Bromfield whose album coincidentally was released by Amy Winehouse’s Lioness Records label. Amy’s influence is very recognizable in all Dionne’s work. Her full name is Dionne Julia Bromfield who is known as a British neo-soul/soul singer-songwriter and also a TV Presenter. Dionne’s debut album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield, was released in 2009 and the evidence of Amy Winehouse’s influence is noticeable throughout. Her newest album from 2011 “Good for the Soul” is my favorite of hers, check it out here. See videos of “Yeah Right”, “Good for the Soul”, and “Sweetest Thing”.
I posed a question/poll on my facebook page and got some good feedback after asking which artist they thought sounded most like Amy Winehouse. Most agreed Gin Wigmore and Dionne Bromfield sounded most like her, but other artists mentioned were Lana Del Rey, Lily Allen, Duffy, and even Adele.
Other artists like Amy Winehouse with links to videos:
Adele with “Skyfall” (from latest Bond movie),
Duffy with one of my faves “Mercy”,
Lana Del Rey with “Ride”,
Lilly Allen with “Smile”,
and Corinne Bailey Rae with “Like a Star”.
All of these amazing vocalists have great chops as well as that super sexy sound, and all have been compared to Amy Winehouse’s raspy sultry voice. Even Joss Stone has been compared to Amy Winehouse. But out of all those listed here, my vote goes for Gin Wigmore. Who do you think sounds most like Amy?
Here is a sampling of Amy Winehouse music (and some of my faves):
Best Songs:
1. Rehab [Explicit] from Back To Black [Explicit]
2. You Know I’m No Good from Back To Black [Explicit]
3. Stronger Than Me from Frank
Best Album:
Back to Black – Frank [Deluxe Edition]
Which songs or albums of Amy Winehouse do you think most capture who she was? And which artist do you think most sounds like her?
