Back to Black

Authorship Breakdown 11 / 11 self-written

By the Numbers

Back to Black is the second studio album by Amy Winehouse, released in October 2006 on Island Records in the UK and produced by Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi. It is the record that made Winehouse one of the most commercially successful British artists of the decade, returning the 1960s soul and girl-group sound to mainstream commercial viability while serving as a vehicle for some of the most directly autobiographical lyric writing in contemporary pop. Winehouse co-wrote all the tracks with Ronson and Remi; the album's lyrical content, drawn directly from her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, her drug and alcohol use, and the emotional turbulence of early adulthood, is notable for its refusal of self-pity in favor of self-aware honesty, with 'Rehab' (her refusal to enter treatment) and 'You Know I'm No Good' among the clearest examples. The album was recorded partly in New York with Ronson using the Daptone Records house band (the Dap-Kings) to achieve the authentic vintage soul production that made it sound categorically different from contemporary pop records; the production's absence of digital post-processing was the principal sonic distinction. Back to Black won five Grammy Awards in 2008 (including Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist), making Winehouse the first British artist to win five Grammys in one night; the album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s. Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011, at age 27, making Back to Black both the peak and the final studio statement of her recording career.

Track Listing & Credits 11 tracks

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 8 contributors

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