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Gotham Gossipist: Amy Winehouse's Dad Was In NYC When His Daughter Died

By Kimberly Rae Miller

You'll always remember where you were when you found out certain pieces of tragic news. For Mitch Winehouse, New York City will always be marred as the place he was when his daughter, singer Amy Winehouse, died.

Inspired by Amy, Mitch quit his taxi driving job, and released his first album at the age of 59.  His career seemed to be taking off, and was scheduled to perform at New York's iconic Jazz club, Blue Note, over the weekend.

The first photos of the grieving father where snapped at JFK airport on Saturday, just hours after news of the 'Rehab' singer's death.  Gossip site TMZ, was the first to note that Amy's father, whom she was exceptionally close to, was across the Atlantic at the time of her death.

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Once his flight landed, Mitch Winehouse spoke to Amy's fans, thanking them for the makeshift shrine they created in front of her Camden House home.

"I can't tell you what this means to us. It really is making this a lot easier for us," he said to the crowd. "Amy was about one thing, and that was love. Her whole life was devoted to her family and her friends, and to you guys as well."

Earlier this year Mitch had told Spinner.com that his daughter was doing better, and had been clean for two-and-a-half years.

There was no drug paraphernalia found around Amy's body.  Winehouse had seen a doctor the day before her death and there was no sign of her being in ailing health.  Unfortunately, by the time that paramedics reached Winehouse's home she had been dead for some time, and rigor mortis had already set in.

As for Amy's mother Janis, who was less optimistic about her daughter's recovery, shortly after her Amy's death she told the Daily Mirror that her death "seemed only a matter of time."

Amy joins a long list of celebrities to die at the age of 27.

Kimberly Rae Miller is a writer, actress, and host living in New York City (kimberlyraemiller.com).

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