Did you know July 23 marks Amy Winehouse’s yahrzeit, the third anniversary of her death? The New Center NOW, Boston Jewish Film Festival and Boston Jewish Music Festival have teamed up to celebrate the life of this Jewish pop diva that evening with the Amy WineHOUSE Party—complete with film, music, drinks and a raffle to raise money for the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
Despite Amy’s lack of interest in Hebrew school and Jewish men, Jewish traditions and family customs definitely informed the sassy young singer. Here’s proof in her music:
- “Back to Black”: This song pretty much says, “You left me for her?!” Interpret it however you want, but we’re tearing a black ribbon and sitting shiva for that relationship.
- “Me and Mr. Jones”: Amy is quoted as saying she didn’t have much interest in dating Jewish men, so why does she sing, “Side from Sammy [Davis Jr.], you’re my best black Jew…” about Mr. Jones?
- “Rehab”: This is dedicated to all those nagging parents. I can’t prove it, but given that she didn’t care to date Jewish men, my guess is that the original lyrics were, “They tried to make me go on JDate and I said no, no, no!”
All joking aside, Amy was raised by a traditional Jewish family in London, and there’s been much debate over how important that was (or wasn’t) to her. Here’s a sampling of articles to give you a bit more insight into her life:
- This piece from Tablet Magazine talks about the exhibit of her life at London’s Jewish Museum
- This preview of the July 23 party by music maven Joey Baron of the Boston Jewish Music Festival explores her music
- This post examines why Amy hated Hebrew school growing up
- And this video includes the lyrics to “Rehab”…in Yiddish (come on, that’s just funny!)
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