進入英語學習論壇下載音頻 去聽寫專區一展身手

Few artists summed up their own career in a single song - a single line - as well as Amy Winehouse.

"They tried to make me go to rehab," she sang on her world-conquering 2006 single, Rehab. "I said 'No, no no'."

Occasionally, she said yes, but to no avail: repeated stints in hospitals and clinics couldn't stop alcohol and drugs scuttling the career of a singer whose distinctive voice, rich mix of influences and heart-on-her sleeve sensibility seemed to promise great things.

In her short lifetime, Winehouse too often made headlines because of drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, destructive relationships and abortive performances. But it's her small but powerful body of recorded music that will be her legacy.

The singer was found dead on Saturday at age 27 by ambulance crews called to her home in north London's Camden area. She joins the ranks of drug-addled rock stars Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Jim Morrison, who died at the same age.

The London Ambulance Service said Winehouse had died before crews arrived at the house in leafy Camden Square. The cause of death was not immediately known.

The singer's body was taken from her home by private ambulance to a London mortuary where post-mortem examinations were to be carried out either on Sunday or Monday.

Police said in a statement no arrests have been made in connection with her death. It was not a complete surprise, but the news was still a huge shock for millions around the world. Winehouse was something rare in an increasingly homogenized music business - an outsized personality and an unclassifiable talent.

She shot to fame with the album Back to Black, whose blend of jazz, soul, rock and classic pop was a global hit. It won five Grammys and made Winehouse - with her black beehive hairdo and old-fashioned sailor tattoos - one of music's most recognizable stars.

"I didn't go out looking to be famous," Winehouse told the Associated Press when the album was released. "I'm just a musician."

But in the end, the music was overshadowed by fame, and by Winehouse's demons. Tabloids lapped up the erratic stage appearances, drunken fights, stints in hospital and rehab clinics.

Performances became shambling, stumbling train wrecks, watched around the world on the Internet.

（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.