When Amy Winehouse died in 2011 at the age of 27, it was a devastating loss — not just for her countless fans, but for those who worked with her during the course of her tragically brief (but brilliant) career.
During his recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, producer Mark Ronson recalled his first meeting with Winehouse, which resulted in one of her biggest hits.
“Amy Winehouse, the first day that I met her, we went and wrote ‘Back to Black,’ the lyrics and the melody, in like 10 minutes,” he revealed, going on to describe leaving the room and coming back moments later to hear Winehouse say, “Alright, I’m done!”
“And she sang it and it was just incredible, and that was the first truly great artist I ever worked with, one of the greatest artists, I couldn’t believe it,” Ronson said.
The Grammy winner shared more details about meeting Winehouse during an appearance on the How to Fail podcast with Elizabeth Day this week, describing the process of getting to know the singer as “falling in love in a platonic sense.”
“This person who is just so funny and entertaining and has such an instant connection where she could be a sister or someone I knew growing up,” he said, going on to admit that “when I think of us making the record there’s no grief at all, I only remember the spark of her and inspiration.”
“It’s only when I think about later and when she fell back into addiction that it starts to get into those darker, sad, grief-soaked things. But it’s all of those things; it’s tough,” Ronson continued.
“Sometimes I’ll be in a restaurant or walking through an airport and hear ‘Valerie,’ and it’s a sunny, lovely feeling, and sometimes it just goes past me. Then, hearing ‘Back to Black’ or something that’s a little more desperate and heart-wrenching can be harder to listen to,” he added.
On July 23, 2011, Winehouse was found dead in her Camden home. London assistant deputy coroner Suzanne Greenaway ruled her cause of death was “accidental alcohol poisoning,” according to The Mirror, giving the official verdict of “death through misadventure.”
Related: Pop Icon Cyndi Lauper Reveals the Tragic Story Behind Iconic Song
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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