Watch CBS News

Amy Winehouse's success shadowed by addiction

Amy Winehouse performs  on July 4, 2008, near Madrid.
Amy Winehouse performs on stage during Rock in Rio Day 3 on July 4, 2008, near Madrid. Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

(CBS/AP) British R&B singer Amy Winehouse was as well known for her addictions and arrests as she was for her smoky voice and chart-topping songs.

Pictures: Amy Winehouse
Pictures: Stars mourn Amy Winehouse
Pictures: The death of Amy Winehouse

Fans first got a glimpse of the black cloud of addition surrounding the singer in the summer of 2007, when her father-in-law of just a few months told a radio station that fans should stop buying her records to force her to seek help for a drug addiction. His comments followed several cancelled concerts which the newlywed singer blamed on exhaustion.

Two months later, Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were arrested in Norway on charges of drug possession. They were released and later paid a fine.

On Dec. 18, 2007, Winehouse was arrested in London on suspicion of attempting to interfere with a court case involving her husband, who was accused of assaulting a pub manager and later spent more than two years in jail.

The following month, Scotland Yard launched an investigation into a video released by British tabloid that allegedly showed Winehouse smoking crack.

Read More: Amy Winehouse found dead
Read more: Amy Winehouse death sets Twitter on fire
Read more: Wide Influence on thin output

On Jan. 24, 2008, Winehouse made what was believed to be her first foray into rehab for drug addiction. But the effort to clean up came too late for her to go to the U.S. for the Grammy awards. She was at first denied a visa, then her application approval came too late for her to make the trip. Instead, she performed from Britain via satellite.

During the summer of 2008, Winehouse was hospitalized after fainting in her home. A fan accused her in September of hitting the woman in the eye when she asked to have her picture taken with the singer. She was acquitted of the charges the following year.

On Jan. 20, 2010, Winehouse pleaded guilty to drunkenly assaulting a theater manager at a family Christmas show and charges were dismissed on the condition she stay out of trouble for two years.

Winehouse checked into treatment program in London's Priory Clinic, which treats psychiatric problems as well as drug and alcohol addiction, on May 27, 2011. She checked out June 2, 2011, saying she would continue outpatient treatment at the Priory Clinic.

Back on tour in June, Winehouse was jeered and booed while on stage in Serbia after she stumbled and appeared to forget lyrics to her songs. In the wake of criticism, Winehouse canceled the rest of her European summer concert tour and all public performances. The unfortunate Serbia concert was to be her last public performance.

She was found dead at her home in north London on July 23, 2011.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.