Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

Adkins and Winehouse: hopefully a different tale of two artists

Jeffrey Remz  |  January 17, 2014

A couple of different musical stories merged today - one ended tragic, the other probably and hopefully not.

While in the car today, I heard Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" on the radio. The song was a hit before she died in 2011 at age 27 of alcohol poisoning, and it always seemed like a most appropriate song for the British soul singer. I had the chance to see her once in Boston, and she pretty much lived up to the lyrics. She was not in good shape at all, warbling her way through the show, which was less than satisfactory. What a disappointment, and her demise was far from a surprise.

And then there is Trace Adkins. He had some sort of an incident on a country cruise ship in the Carribean earlier this week where he was the main attraction, and he now is in rehab. Adkins apparently confronted an impersonator of him - isn't that odd? - and it maybe have revolved around the impersonator going so low as to forge Adkins' signature when people asked him for it.

While not entirely clear, what is clear is that Adkins is in rehab. This is a recurrence of an alcohol problem for which he sought treatment about a dozen years ago.

Adkins, who just turned 52 this week, has had a long successful career, starting with "Dreamin' Out Loud" in 1996 and continuing through his two albums this year "Love Will..." and the holiday disc "The King's Gift." Doubtlessly due to ageism when folks like Luke Bryan are dominating the charts, Adkins' star may not be what it once was.

Let's hope, of course, that Adkins recuperates and continues to put out quality music (and I'm not talking "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" either). He's a fine singer with a great voice, funny and really good in concert.

To be clear, I am not comparing Adkins' lifestyle with Winehouse's at all. Adkins has had a rough-and-tumble life at times (just read his book where, as usual, he tells it like it is), but he never seemed out of control like Winehouse. Adkins should get the help he needs in rehab and not be a victim like Winehouse.