The song I chose to close out the Amy Winehouse Mix CD is “(There Is No) Greater Love” from her 2003 album Frank. This choice might seem illogical. It wasn’t a hit or even a single. It’s not a powerhouse Mark Ronson or Salaam Remi ballad reminiscent of 60s soul. It wasn’t even written by Amy Winehouse like nearly all of the music on her albums.
“(There is No) Greater Love” was written in 1936 by Marty Symes and composed by Isham Jones. It has become a standard and has been recorded by dozens of (mostly) jazz artists. Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole, and Aretha Franklin, just to name a few of the heavy hitters who have taken a shot at this classic. Sammy Davis Jr. swung the shit out of it. Miles made it cool like only he could. Ahmad Jamal worked his magic on it and turned it into something completely different. Billie Holiday has my favorite version of it, that is until…
19-year-old Amy Winehouse put her stamp on it and immediately announced that she could sing jazz as well as anyone. Call it sacrilege or whatever you want: Amy sang that song better than anyone ever had before her. Even the greats that she looked up to take a backseat, at least on this particular song. Her voice is at the same time equal parts sweet and soulful. The timbre blends perfectly with the instrumentation and her ability to sing with that kind of range while reining it in to fit the song is unbelievable.
It’s not just her voice. The sound quality of the recording is impeccable. Yet another impressive production job by Commissioner Gordon. He and Amy didn’t do a lot of work together, but the music they created together on her album Frank was memorable. Even on CD or streaming the track sounds warm like a record, thanks at least in part to the added light crackle effect sounding like a needle on a dusty record. The guitar, piano, flute, sax, and percussion blend with Amy’s voice to produce one of the loveliest songs you’ll ever experience. While so much of Amy’s music explores pain and heartbreak, “Greater Love” reveals a side of Amy rarely seen. It’s inconceivable that this vocal performance came from a teenager. Of all of the brilliant Amy Winehouse vocal performances, this is my favorite. Since I believe we are musical kindred spirits, I have to imagine this was one of hers, too.
I have another reason for loving this song as much as I do. I first heard Amy Winehouse in 2007. As most Americans probably did, I heard Back To Black first, then when I found out she had another album I went back and heard the debut. Even though Frank was four years old, it was brand new to me in ’07. My oldest daughter was also born in 2007. While baby Phoebe had taken over my life I was listening to a lot of Amy Winehouse. I would hold her and stare into her big blue eyes and hear the words:
There is no greater love
Than what I feel for you
No sweeter song
No heart so true
There is no greater thrill
Than what you bring to me
No sweeter song
Than what you sing, sing to me
You’re the sweetest thing
That I’ve ever known
And to think that you are mind
You are mine alone
There is no greater love
In all of the world, it’s true
No greater love
Than what I feel for you
That little girl is 17 now. We took her on her first college visit last week. She had her senior pictures three days ago. Just as I type this and listen to this song I have tears welling up in my eyes. This is my Phoebe song and always will be. I’m thankful for Amy Winehouse for a lot of things, but most of all I’m thankful that she provided this beautiful soundtrack that will remind me of my baby girl for as long as I live.
Time to move on before I turn into a puddle. My favorite live version of this song comes from a performance in Miami in 2008. In case you weren’t convinced Amy could sing, this should seal the deal. Just Amy accompanied by an acoustic guitar…and an audience that was making way too much noise. Did she perform this in a middle school cafeteria? She brought her A-game on this one. The vibrato is wild – especially when she sings the line “no heart so true”. She had an ear and instinct unlike any other singer of her generation, and a voice to match. This is easily the best live version of this song that I’ve ever heard.
And with that, the mix CD is finally complete. Here’s the official playlist if you’d like to listen, share, or do whatever it is people do with playlists:
I still haven’t figured out how to embed an Apple Music playlist, so if that’s your preferred streaming service, here’s a link. It’s not as pretty as the Spotify embed, but the music is the same.
When I started this mission of 22 Amy songs in 22 (week)days my goal was to convince readers that Amy wasn’t just the sensationalized paparazzi magnet that a lot of people remember her for. There was so much more to her. Put some respect on her name. Her voice and songwriting were otherworldly and she was just scratching the surface. Sadly, her demons overwhelmed her before we got a chance to hear more. I want her to be remembered as a beautiful soul, a talented singer/songwriter, and yes, a world class badass. Even with only two full proper albums she left us with so much. Her impact is still felt 13 years after her death and will continue for generations. Thank you, Amy Winehouse. May you continue to rest in peace. We love and miss you every day.
mookiefantana 