27 Club
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The 27 Club—also occasionally known as the Forever 27 Club, Club 27 or the Curse of 27—is a meme regarding popular musicians who all died at the age of 27[1] often as a result of "precipitous lifestyles that made them candidates for early self-destruction."[2] The deaths of some prominent musicians at age 27, such as Robert Johnson,[3][4] Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, are the basis of this idea.[5]
The "club" has been repeatedly cited in music magazines, journals and the daily press. Several exhibitions have devoted to the Club of 27; distributed merchandising products, novels, films and stage plays captured this topic. There have been many different theories and speculations about the causes of such early deaths and their possible connections. Cobain and Hendrix biographer Charles R. Cross writes "The number of musicians who died at 27 is truly remarkable by any standard. [Although] humans die regularly at all ages, there is a statistical spike for musicians who die at 27."[5] However, a study published in the British Medical Journal in December 2011 concluded that the occurrence of famous musicians dying at the age of 27 was coincidental, and the risk of death from their lifestyle was increased, but not limited to the age of 27.[6]
Origins
Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison died between 1969 and 1971, although a possible connection between their same death-age was not reported in the public press. Although some relations were occasionally noticed,[7][8] those rather remained a side note. It was not until the death of Kurt Cobain, about two and a half decades after the last occurred, that the first idea of a "27 Club" was spread in the public perception. [9] According to Hendrix and Cobain biograph Charles R. Cross, the growing importance of the media – internet, television and magazines – and the response of an interview by Cobain's mother were jointly responsible for such theories. Towards a reporter from the Aberdeen newspaper The Daily World she said the following:
| “ | Now he's gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to join that stupid club. | ” |
Cross meant, Cobain's mother referred to Hendrix', Joplin's and Morrison's same date of death,[10] other authors share his view.[11] On the other hand, Josh Hunter and Eric Segalstad, writer of The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll, assumed that Cobain's mother referred to the death of his two uncles and his great uncle, who all committed suicide.[12]
The quote was published in the Newsweek edition of April 18, 1994, globally distributed from the news agency Associated Press, discussed by radio disc jockeys and found in internet forums and later also in blogs. The theory that Cobain consciously chose his suicide at 27 to join the club originated in such media.[9]
Members
| Name | Date of death | Official cause of death | Fame | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandre Levy[13] | January 17, 1892 | Unknown | Composer, pianist and conductor | 27 years, 98 days |
| Louis Chauvin[13][14] | March 26, 1908 | Neurosyphilitic sclerosis | Ragtime musician | 27 years, 13 days |
| Robert Johnson[15] | August 16, 1938 | Unknown, but typically attributed to strychnine poisoning | Blues singer and musician who recorded a very famous and influential set of 29 songs. | 27 years, 100 days |
| Nat Jaffe[13] | August 5, 1945 | Complications from high blood pressure | Swing jazz pianist | 27 years, 216 days |
| Jesse Belvin[13][14][16][17] | February 6, 1960 | Car accident | R&B singer, pianist and songwriter | 27 years, 53 days |
| Rudy Lewis[16][18] | May 20, 1964 | Drug overdose | Vocalist of The Drifters | 27 years, 271 days |
| Malcolm Hale[13][17] | October 31, 1968 | Carbon monoxide poisoning | Original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang | 27 years, 166 days |
| Dickie Pride[16] | March 26, 1969 | Overdose of sleeping pills | Rock and roll singer | 27 years, 156 days |
| Brian Jones[19] | July 3, 1969 | Drowned[20] (coroner's report states "death by misadventure", disputed)[21] | Rolling Stones founder, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist | 27 years, 125 days |
| Jimi Hendrix[19] | September 18, 1970 | Asphyxiation (disputed)[22] | Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys | 27 years, 295 days |
| Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson[13][14][16][18][23][17] | September 3, 1970 | Barbiturate overdose, possible suicide | Leader, singer and primary composer of Canned Heat | 27 years, 61 days |
| Janis Joplin[24] | October 4, 1970 | Probable heroin overdose[25] | Lead vocalist and songwriter for Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band | 27 years, 258 days |
| Arlester "Dyke" Christian[13] | March 13, 1971 | Murdered | Frontman, vocalist and bassist of Dyke & the Blazers | 27 years, 273 days |
| Jim Morrison[19] | July 3, 1971 | Reported as heart failure (no autopsy performed, disputed)[26][27]. | Lead singer, lyricist and video director for The Doors, and poet | 27 years, 207 days |
| Linda Jones[16] | March 14, 1972 | Complications from diabetes | Soul singer | 27 years, 91 days |
| Leslie Harvey[14][23][17] | May 3, 1972 | Electrocution | Guitarist for Stone the Crows and brother of Alex Harvey | 27 years, 233 days |
| Ron "Pigpen" McKernan[13][14][16][18][23][17] | March 8, 1973 | Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism | Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead | 27 years, 181 days |
| Roger Lee Durham[13][17] | July 27, 1973 | Fell off a horse and died from the injuries | Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone | 27 years, 163 days |
| Wallace Yohn[13] | August 12, 1974 | Plane crash | Organ player of Chase | 27 years, 212 days |
| Dave Alexander[13][14][16][18][23][17] | February 10, 1975 | Pulmonary edema | Bassist for the Stooges | 27 years, 252 days |
| Pete Ham[13][14][16][18][23][17] | April 24, 1975 | Suicide | Keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger | 27 years, 362 days |
| Gary Thain[13][14][18][17] | December 8, 1975 | Drug overdose | Former bassist of Uriah Heep and The Keef Hartley Band | 27 years, 207 days |
| Helmut Köllen[13][17] | May 3, 1977 | Carbon monoxide poisoning | Bassist for 1970s prog rock band Triumvirat | 27 years, 62 days |
| Chris Bell[13][14][16][17] | December 27, 1978 | Car accident | Singer-songwriter and guitarist of power pop band Big Star and solo | 27 years, 349 days |
| Jacob Miller[14][18] | March 23, 1980 | Car accident | Reggae artist and lead singer for Inner Circle | 27 years, 324 days |
| D. Boon[13][14][16][23][17] | December 22, 1985 | Van accident | Guitarist, lead singer of punk band the Minutemen | 27 years, 266 days |
| Alexander Bashlachev | February 17, 1988 | Suicide | Poet, rock musician and songwriter | 27 years, 266 days |
| Jean-Michel Basquiat[16][18][23][17] | August 12, 1988 | Speedball overdose | Painter and graffiti artist; formed the band Gray | 27 years, 234 days |
| Pete de Freitas[13][14][16][18][17] | June 14, 1989 | Motorcycle accident | Drummer for Echo & the Bunnymen | 27 years, 346 days |
| Mia Zapata[13][14][16] | July 7, 1993 | Murdered | Lead singer of The Gits | 27 years, 316 days |
| Kurt Cobain[24] | April 5, 1994 | Suicide by gunshot (disputed)[28] | Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Nirvana | 27 years, 44 days |
| Kristen Pfaff[13][14][16][18][23][17] | June 16, 1994 | Heroin overdose | Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe | 27 years, 51 days |
| Richey Edwards[13][16][23][17] | February 1, 1995 | Disappeared; officially presumed dead November 23, 2008 | Lyricist and guitarist for Manic Street Preachers | 27 years, 41 days |
| Fat Pat[13][14] | February 3, 1998 | Murdered | Rapper and member of Screwed Up Click | 27 years, 61 days |
| Freaky Tah[13] | March 28, 1999 | Murdered | Rapper and member of the hip hop group Lost Boyz | 27 years, 318 days |
| Rodrigo Bueno | June 24, 2000 | Car accident | Cuarteto singer | 27 years, 31 days |
| Sean Patrick McCabe[13][14][16][17] | August 28, 2000 | Asphyxiation | Lead singer of Ink & Dagger | 27 years, 289 days |
| Maria Serrano Serrano[13] | November 24, 2001 | Plane crash | Background singer for Passion Fruit | 27 years, 363 days |
| Jeremy Michael Ward[13][14][16][17] | May 25, 2003 | Heroin overdose | The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator | 27 years, 20 days |
| Bryan Ottoson[13][14][17] | April 19, 2005 | Prescription drug overdose | Guitarist for American Head Charge | 27 years, 32 days |
| Valentín Elizalde[13] | November 26, 2006 | Murdered | Mexican banda singer | 27 years, 297 days |
| Amy Winehouse[18][19] | July 23, 2011 | Alcohol poisoning[29] | Singer-songwriter; first British woman to win five Grammy Awards in single ceremony | 27 years, 312 days |
| Richard Turner[14] | August 11, 2011 | Cardiac arrest | Trumpet player, collaborator with Friendly Fires[30] | 27 years, 12 days |
References
- ^ "After Nirvana Show airs on Saturday 3rd April 2100 - 2200". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/documentaries/nirvana_27.shtml. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ Weiss, David. "Amy Winehouse & The 27 Club". Life Goes Strong. http://play.lifegoesstrong.com/amy-winehouse-27-club. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ McMartin, Pete (2011-07-26). "The short foregone song of Amy Winehouse". Vancouver Sun. http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/short+foregone+song+Winehouse/5158532/story.html. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ^ Sullivan, James (2011-05-27). "Robert Johnson Founds the '27 Club' With Devil Pact -- Twisted Tales". Spinner. http://www.spinner.ca/2011/05/27/robert-johnson-crossroads/. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
- ^ a b Cross, Charles (February 22, 2007). "P-I's Writer in Residence Charles R. Cross explores the darker side of 'only the good die young' Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/P-I-s-Writer-in-Residence-Charles-R-Cross-1229072.php#ixzz1WQD7ympT". seattle pi. http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/P-I-s-Writer-in-Residence-Charles-R-Cross-1229072.php. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "Is 27 really a dangerous age for famous musicians? A retrospective cohort study" (Press release). British Medical Journal. December 2011. http://www.bmj.com/press-releases/2011/12/20/27-really-dangerous-age-famous-musicians-retrospective-cohort-study. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- ^ Nesta Roberts (September 10, 1971). The Guardian. p. 13.
- ^ James Riordan; Jerry Prochnicky (1992). Break on Through: The Life and Death of Jim Morrison. It Books. pp. 416, 467. ISBN 978-0688119157.
- ^ a b Charles R. Cross (February 23, 2007). "P-I's Writer in Residence Charles R. Cross explores the darker side of 'only the good die young'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. http://www.seattlepi.com/writers/304767_writer23.html. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
- ^ a b Charles R. Cross (2002). Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain (2nd ed.). Hyperion. p. 357. ISBN 978-0786884025.
- ^ R. Gary Patterson. Take a Walk on the Dark Side: Rock and Roll Myths, Legends, and Curses. p. 259.
- ^ Josh Hunter; Eric Segalstad (2008). The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll. Berkeley Lake: Samadhi Creations. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-615-18964-2. http://the27s.com/. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll". The27s.com. http://the27club.the27s.com/Forever27.html. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Forever 27 Hall of Fame". Forever27.co.uk. http://www.forever27.co.uk/forever/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=9. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ http://www.spinner.com/2011/05/27/robert-johnson-crossroads/
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Members of the 27 Club". Ranker. 31 July 2011. http://www.ranker.com/list/members-of-the-27-club/famous-celebrity-deaths-list. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s O'Connor, Rob (23 July 2011). "Twenty-Seven Members of the 27 Club". Yahoo Music. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/listoftheday/141497/twenty-seven-members-of-the-27-club/. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Blair, Kevin (24 July 2011). "The Forever 27 Club — Music's Growing List of Stars Who Died at 27 Years Old". StarPulse. http://www.starpulse.com/news/Kevin_Blair/2011/07/24/the_forever_27_club_musics_growing_li. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d Clements, Paul (July 24, 2011). "Amy Winehouse joins the 'Forever 27' club". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8657314/Amy-Winehouse-joins-the-Forever-27-club.html.
- ^ "All about Brian Jones, by Anthony Bruno — "Death by Misadventure" — Crime Library on". Trutv.com. 1969-07-10. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/brian_jones/. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
- ^ Wyman 2002, p. 329
- ^ The Final Days, Tony Brown excerpt quoted in http://woodstockhendrix.gobot.com/about.html
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Stopera, Dave. "The 27 Club: 15 Other Musicians Who Died at Age 27". BuzzFeed. http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/15-other-musicians-who-died-at-age-27. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
- ^ a b Schillaci, Sophie A. (July 23, 2011). "Amy Winehouse Joins Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin in '27 Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amy-winehouse-27-kurt-cobain-214643.
- ^ The Washington Post. May 11, 1998. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/joplin.htm.
- ^ Walt, Vivienne (July 19, 2007). "Postcard: Paris". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1645167,00.html. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
- ^ Walt, Vivienne. "How Jim Morrison Died". Time. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1643884,00.html. Retrieved August 24, 2008.
- ^ van Gelder, Lawrence (March 3, 1998). "Footlights". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/03/arts/footlights.html. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ Davies, Caroline (26 October 2011). "Amy Winehouse inquest records verdict of misadventure". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/26/amy-winehouse-verdict-misadventure. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- ^ Smith, K. Alexander. "Richard Turner of Friendly Fires: 1984-2011". http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/08/richard-turner-trumpet-player-for-friendly-fires-d.html. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
