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Amy Winehouse’s song inspired by a Motown classic

Posted on by angelo
Amy Winehouse’s song inspired by a Motown classic

“Tears Dry On Their Own”: Amy Winehouse’s song inspired by “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”

(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)

Little of what Amy Winehouse did in music was original; it is a fact. But it’s also an acceptable fact: if we tried to rid the entire enterprise of those who reinvented previously performed tropes, we wouldn’t have much, if anything, left. With Winehouse, many of her songs didn’t just borrow from other genres; they paid their respects in the simplest way possible.

When the future Beehive singer first emerged in 2003, she had that endearing early 2000s authenticity that seemed popular at the time, but with a more classic twist: instead of producing the same types of pop music than his peers. In doing so, she took her appreciation for rhythm and jazz music and created magic.

While his first album Franc still has a lot of songs that hold up today, it was released in 2006, Back to black, which solidified his status as one of the most exciting figures in the musical landscape. In fact, many songs possess a unique ability to be heard even when not being played, thanks in large part to the vivid sonic tapestry she placed at the forefront of each of her hits.

From a personal point of view, most of the songs Back to black were written by Winehouse during a particularly difficult period in her life. Her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil had ended due to his pursuit of his previous girlfriend, and although they would later reunite romantically, Winehouse was then very confident in her ability to move on and acknowledge its negative impact on her.

This is particularly reflected in “Tears Dry On Their Own,” which Winehouse wrote to tell herself that everything would be okay. As she said in 2006: “(It’s about) the breakup with Blake, my ex. Most of these songs are about him.

Detailing further, she added: “I shouldn’t have had a relationship with him because he was already involved with someone else a little too close to home. The song is about the time we broke up and said, ‘Yeah, you’re sad but you’ll get over it.’ And I did.”

Unlike the songs produced by Mark Ronson, “Tears Dry On Their Own” had an intentionally slower tempo, something that producer Salaam Remi was keen to explore with his sound at the time. In fact, while they were imagining how the track was going to turn out, they were listening to the backing tracks of “Aint No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, when inspiration struck.

Discuss the pivotal moment with Mojo, Remi explained, “I was sitting there listening to it and telling Amy that ‘Tears Dry’ could (work on) that.” She just couldn’t hear him. Continuing, he explained that he had to “sing it for her to understand” but that she was “still frustrated”. He added: “But it was really the idea of ​​her singing very sad lyrics over encouraging accompaniment.”

After a while, however, she recognized “this juxtaposition,” Rémi explained, the kind that “gave her another spark.” Taking inspiration from the hit Motown song, “Tears Dry On Their Own” not only became one of Winehouse’s most personal compositions, but also adopted a certain soul that gave it its endearing lifespan.

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