From her signature hair and eyeliner to her raspy voice, Amy Winehouse became a pioneer in the music industry. In 2003, at only 19 years old, she presented her debut album “Frank”, a jazz and soul contribution to the world in 15 tracks. The album cover, shot by Charles Moriarty, reveals many things about the singer as a young woman as well as the music in this album.

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Charles Moriarty began a friendship before Amy Winehouse’s fame. He is the artist behind the cover of her album Frank. Moriarty is a fine art photographer from Dublin. He moved to London at the age of 18 to pursue photography. He has worked with multiple celebrities and brands like Diesel but first became prominent in the field after he photographed Amy Winehouse, before “Frank”, which is the title of his first book. “Before Frank” contains multiple unpublished photographs of the late singer. A revised version of the book was later published under the title “Back to Amy” introducing fifty new pictures of Amy Winehouse as well as interviews of people that were close with the singer before her tragic death.

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“Stronger Than Me” and “F*** Me Pumps” are two of the most popular songs of Amy Winehouse’s debut album. The first track of the album, “Stronger Than Me”, presents a romantic relationship where the woman feels as though her boyfriend is immature. Although he is older, she feels like she is taking care of him, resembling a mother and son bond. She sings, “You always wanna talk it through, I don't care! I always have to comfort you when I'm there. But that's what I need you to do, stroke my hair! 'Cause I've forgotten all of young love's joy.” Winehouse sings about the low points of a relationship that is not meant to be since their love languages are completely different. The fourth song of the album, “F*** Me Pumps”, tells the story of a typical “girls’ night out” that turns out to be all about the opposite sex. The singer sits at a bar where she sees all those women wearing outfits to appeal to the male gaze. “When you walk in the bar and you're dressed like a star. Rockin' your F me pumps. And the men notice you with your Gucci bag crew. Can't tell who he's lookin' to. 'Cause you all look the same, everyone knows your name. And that's your whole claim to fame”, Winehouse sings. These women come to the bar wearing their best clothes to find the man of their dreams who always end up leaving in the morning, breaking his promise to call them back.

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The album cover used for “Frank” features Amy Winehouse, wearing her eternal smile and walking down the street with a dog at the end of a leash. Another person seems to be present at the scene since a shadow covers a portion of the late singer’s body. The scene was shot at night which could allude to many experiences told in her album. The dark streets represent the naivety of teenagers becoming adults thinking the world is theirs without caring about the dangers of real life. The album, as a whole, presents her life, as a young adult discovering the world around her, experimenting with relationships. Both “Stronger Than Me” and “F*** Me Pumps” tell stories most typically experienced by young adults. 

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I deeply connect to Amy Winehouse’s album “Frank” since just like her almost 20 years ago, I am becoming a young adult. With age comes responsibility as well as many privileges which are very difficult to balance. The album cover reflects almost perfectly the lyrics present in Winehouse’s debut album. The hardships of a young woman making her way into society are told through the lyrics as well as the cover of the album which many young women can relate to. Everyone possesses different worries about their place in the world. Now, more than ever, the album “Frank” can come as a comfort to the struggles of a little girl growing up, fighting the odds, and becoming whoever she wants to become. The relationships we possess will forge us and Amy Winehouse was able to put those experiences and observations of the world into fifteen songs with complete brilliance.