Released 27 October 2006
Recorded 2006
Studio
Allido Studios, Chung King Studios, Daptone Studios
(New York City)
Instrument Zoo (Miami)
Metropolis Studios (London)
Genre
Soul rhythm and blues contemporary R&B neo soul
Length 34:56
Label Island
Producer
Mark Ronson Salaam Remi
Back to Black is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. The album spawned five singles: “Rehab”, “You Know I’m No Good”, “Back to Black”, “Tears Dry on Their Own” and “Love Is a Losing Game”. Back to Black was acclaimed by music critics, who praised Winehouse’s songwriting and emotive singing style as well as Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson’s production.
At the 50th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, Back to Black won Best Pop Vocal Album and was also nominated for Album of the Year. At the same ceremony, Winehouse won four additional awards meaning that she ties with five other artists as the second-most awarded female in a single ceremony. The album was also nominated at the 2007 Brit Awards for MasterCard British Album and was shortlisted for the 2007 Mercury Prize. Back to Black sold 3.58 million copies in the UK alone, becoming the UK’s second best-selling album of the 21st century. By 2018, the album had sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
A deluxe edition of Back to Black was released in November 2007, containing a bonus disc of B-sides, rare, and live tracks. Winehouse’s debut DVD I Told You I Was Trouble: Live in London, released that same month, includes a live set recorded at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and a 50-minute documentary detailing the singer’s career over the previous four years.
Winehouse released her debut album, Frank, on 20 October 2003. Produced mainly by Salaam Remi, many songs were influenced by jazz, and apart from two covers, every song was co-written by Winehouse. The album received positive reviews with compliments over the “cool, critical gaze” in its lyrics and brought comparisons of her voice to Sarah Vaughan, Macy Gray and others. The album reached number 13 on the UK Albums Chart at the time of its release, and was eventually certified triple Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In 2004, Winehouse was nominated for British Female Solo Artist and British Urban Act at the Brit Awards, while Frank made the shortlist for the Mercury Prize. That same year, the album’s first single, “Stronger Than Me”, earned Winehouse and Remi an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.
Track listing
1. “Rehab” Amy Winehouse Mark Ronson 3:34
2. “You Know I’m No Good” Winehouse Ronson 4:17
3. “Me & Mr Jones” Winehouse Salaam Remi 2:33
4. “Just Friends” Winehouse Remi 3:13
5. “Back to Black”
Winehouse Ronson
Ronson 4:01
6. “Love Is a Losing Game” Winehouse Ronson 2:35
7. “Tears Dry on Their Own”
Winehouse Nickolas Ashford Valerie Simpson
Remi 3:06
8. “Wake Up Alone”
Winehouse Paul O’Duffy
Ronson 3:42
9. “Some Unholy War” Winehouse Remi 2:22
10. “He Can Only Hold Her”
Winehouse Richard Poindexter Robert Poindexter
Ronson 2:46
11. “Addicted” Winehouse Remi 2:45
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Back to Black.
Amy Winehouse – vocals, backing vocals (3, 7, 9, 11), guitar (3, 4, 9, 11)
John Adams – organ (4, 9, 11), piano, Rhodes (4, 11)
Ade – backing vocals (10)
Troy Auxilly-Wilson – drums (4, 7, 11), tambourine (7)
Victor Axelrod – claps (1, 2), piano (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10), Wurlitzer (1, 2)
Harry Benson – photography
Mark Berrow – violin (1, 5, 6)
Dave Bishop – baritone saxophone (1, 5, 6)
Rachel Bolt – viola (1, 5, 6)
Thomas Brenneck – guitar (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
Raye Cosbert – management
Chris Davies – alto saxophone (1, 5, 6)
Shomari “Sho” Dillon – assistant engineering (3, 4, 7, 9, 11)
Gleyder “Gee” Disla – assistant engineering (3, 4, 7, 9, 11)
Liz Edwards – violin (1, 5, 6)
Richard Edwards – tenor trombone (1, 6)
Chris Elliott – orchestra arrangement and conducting (1, 5, 6)
Tom Elmhirst – mixing (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10)
Cochemea Gastelum – baritone saxophone (10)
Jesse Gladstone – assistant engineering (1, 2, 5, 6, 8)
Phil Griffin – US cover photography
Isobel Griffiths – orchestra contractor (1, 5, 6)
Binky Griptite – guitar (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
Dave Guy – trumpet (1, 2, 10)
Peter Hanson – violin (1, 5, 6)
John Heley – cello (1, 5, 6)
Ian Hendrickson-Smith – baritone saxophone (1, 2)
Vincent Henry – alto saxophone (7), baritone saxophone (3, 7), bass clarinet (4), celeste (7), clarinet (4, 7), flute (7), guitar (3, 4, 7, 9, 11), piano (7), saxophone (11), tenor saxophone (3, 7)
Alex Hutchinson – design
Joely Koos – cello (1, 5, 6)
Sam Koppelman – percussion (10)
Boguslaw Kostecki – violin (1, 5, 6)
Alex Lake – photography
Andy Mackintosh – alto saxophone (1, 5, 6)
Mike Makowski – assistant engineering (1, 2, 5, 6, 8)
Vaughan Merrick – claps, engineering (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
Perry Montague-Mason – violin (1, 5, 6), orchestra leader (1, 5, 6)
Dom Morley – engineering (10)
Nick Movshon – bass (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
Everton Nelson – violin (1, 5, 6)
Gary “G Major” Noble – mixing (3, 4, 9, 11)
Derek Pacuk – engineering (10)
Matt Paul – engineering (10), mixing assistant (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10)
Tom Pigott-Smith – violin (1, 5, 6)
Anthony Pleeth – cello (1, 5, 6)
Bruce Purse – bass trumpet (3, 4, 7, 11), flugelhorn (3, 4, 7, 11), trumpet (4, 7, 11)
Jonathan Rees – violin (1, 5, 6)
Salaam Remi – bass (4, 7, 9, 11), drums (3, 9, 11), guitar (7, 9), piano (3, 7), production (3, 4, 7, 9, 11), upright bass (3)
Mishca Richter – photography
Frank Ricotti – percussion (1, 5, 6)
Mark Ronson – band arrangement (1, 2, 5, 6, 8), claps (1), engineering (1, 2, 5, 6, 8), production (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10), snaps (10), tambourine (5)
Gabriel Roth – band arrangement (1, 2, 5, 6, 8), engineering (10)
Steve Sidwell – trumpet (1, 6)
Mike Smith – tenor saxophone (1, 6)
Franklin Socorro – engineering (3, 4, 7, 9, 11)
Homer Steinweiss – drums (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone (1, 2, 10, 11)
Jamie Talbot – tenor saxophone (1, 5, 6)
Jon Thorne – viola (1, 5, 6)
Chris Tombling – violin (1, 5, 6)
Helen Tunstall – harp (1, 6)
Bruce White – viola (1, 5, 6)
Katie Wilkinson – viola (1, 5, 6)
James Wisner – mixing assistant (3, 4, 9, 11)
Zalon – backing vocals (10)
Warren Zielinski – violin (1, 5, 6)
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