Amy Winehouse’s tragic death due to alcohol intoxication robbed the world of her deep contralto vocals, placing her alongside artists like Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Jimmy Hendrix – all of whom died, like Amy, at the age of 27.

Winehouse, who died in 2011, emerged on the scene as one of the most talented artists of her generation with her album Back to Black, becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys.

Known for her characteristic beehive, Winehouse was photographed by some of the worlds best photographers, including Diane Patrice and Alex Lake.

Now Blake Wood (below, with Winehouse) has released the photos he took of her between 2008 and 2009 just before her career sky-rocketed, capturing Amy as you’ve never seen her before.

Here’s CNN:

In February 2008, just weeks after meeting Wood, Winehouse won five Grammy Awards. At the time, it was a record for most Grammys by a female artist in a single night. But the success and recognition didn’t change who she was, Wood said.

“She was real. She was herself through and through. She never compromised or tried to be something that she wasn’t. And I think it’s rare, I think maybe in media, for people to see that: to see someone who’s just so authentic and just really down to be themselves 24-7.”

That authenticity — along with her talent, voice and heartfelt, poetic lyrics — resonated with people, Wood said. And there was a vulnerability there that many could relate to.

Wood recalls that as her career progressed, the paparazzi became more and more unbearable, hounding her at every opportunity.

“We spent a lot of time indoors during 2008, because it just was a lot,” he said. “You go outside, and they are following your every move. There’s no freedom to just escape it and have a night out or go shopping or whatever. We did do those things, but she was the most photographed person at that time.”

In 2008, Winehouse managed to escape the public eye over Christmas, taking a much-needed break in the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Wood joined her later, and the photographs he took while there form a large part of his new book Amy Winehouse – a collection of images that record their time together.

In St. Lucia, you can see a different side of Winehouse. Free from the constant media frenzy, she lets her hair down and poses for intimate photos with her trusted friend.

“We felt safe, we felt relaxed, we felt like we could really just take a breath,” Wood remembers.

He said at that time she had also stopped using drugs.

“That for me, was just a joy: to see her soul almost. Just content and comfortable and not worried or wrapped in any of the drama that was going on around her,” he said. “That’s my favorite memory from the book is seeing that stillness, that peace in her.”

Wood moved to New York in 2009 but kept in contact with Winehouse via video-chat. He visited her in London in 2010, and again in 2011 just a month before she died of alcohol poisoning.

“We really tried — myself and her family — to get her treatment and do what we could,” Wood said. “But people need to remember that she was an adult. She made choices, and she wasn’t a child that we didn’t help. Everybody did everything they could with the awareness and knowledge that they had.”

Wood kept his pictures of Winehouse hidden away for years following her death, unsure whether he would release them.

But as time passed and he processed his grief, he thought it would be a good way to honor her and put the focus on “her light” instead of her tragic death.

I think we’re all glad that he did. Just like we were when Gil Cang released her never before heard demo of My Way.

“There was a childlike quality to her that was really beautiful, and I think we need to all remember that in ourselves and try to keep that alive,” [Wood] said.

Words to live by.

[source:cnn]