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27 Club

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The 27 Club, also occasionally known as the Forever 27 Club or the Club 27, is a popular culture name for a group of influential rock and blues musicians who all died at the age of 27, sometimes under mysterious circumstances.[1][2][3] While all musicians die at different ages, there seems to be a large portion of musician deaths around the ages of 27. [3]

Musicians usually included in the 27 Club

A 'white lighter' is said to be cause of the unfortunate end to these musicians, as it is considered bad luck by the stoner culture.

There is some debate as to the criterion used to include musicians who died at the age of 27 in the "27 Club". The impetus for the Club's creation were the deaths of a seemingly unusual number of prominent 27-year-old musicians within a two-year period of time, exactly. Lists include Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.[4] Morrison and Jones died on the same date two years apart. Kurt Cobain, who died in 1994, was later included by some, probably due to his popularity and his death occurring at the pinnacle of his career. According to the book Heavier Than Heaven, when Cobain died, his sister claimed that as a kid he would talk about how he wanted to join the 27 Club.[5] The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll details the history of the phenomenon.

There is a common superstition among the stoner culture that the use of a white lighter is unlucky. This is rumored to have originated from reports that 4 of the 5 members of the 27 club (Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, and Cobain) had a white lighter in their possession at the time of their death.[6][7]

Picture Name Date of death Cause of death Fame Aged
File:Brian Jones hint.png Brian Jones July 3, 1969 Drowned in swimming pool. Rolling Stones founder and guitarist / multi-instrumentalist. 27 years and 125 days
File:Jimi Hendrix, portrait by Paolo Steffan.jpg Jimi Hendrix September 18, 1970 Asphyxiated on vomit after overdose of sleeping pills. Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys. 27 years and 295 days
File:Janis-Joplin-1969.jpg Janis Joplin October 4, 1970 Probable heroin overdose. Lead vocalist and songwriter for Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band. 27 years and 258 days
Jim Morrison July 3, 1971 Official cause of death listed as "heart failure", however, no autopsy was performed. Lead singer, songwriter and video director for The Doors. 27 years and 207 days
Kurt Cobain c. April 5, 1994 Officially ruled as suicide by shotgun. Lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Nirvana. 27 years and c. 44 days

Other well-known musicians who died at 27

Some lists include other musicians who died at age 27.[3][8] 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."[3]

Image Name Date of death Cause of death Fame
Louis Chauvin March 26, 1908 Neurosyphilitic sclerosis Ragtime musician
File:RobertJohson.png Robert Johnson August 16, 1938 Unknown, but typically credited to strychnine poisoning. Bluesman. Recorded very famous and influential set of 29 songs that influenced many famous musicians after him, considered the first of the unofficial 27 club.
Nat Jaffe
1945
 Result of complications from high blood pressure. Blues musician
Jesse Belvin February 6, 1960 Car wreck. R&B singer and songwriter
Rudy Lewis May 20th, 1964 Drug overdose. Vocalist of The Drifters
Malcolm Hale October 31, 1968 Carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty space heater. Original member of Spanky and Our Gang.
Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson September 3, 1970 Barbiturate overdose, possible suicide. Leader, singer and primary composer of Canned Heat.
Linda Jones March 14, 1972 Diabetic coma. R&B singer
Leslie Harvey May 3, 1972 Electrocuted by live mic. guitarist for Stone the Crows
File:Pigpen-grave.jpg Ron "Pigpen" McKernan March 8, 1973 Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism. Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead.
Dave Alexander February 10, 1975 Pulmonary edema. Bassist for the Stooges.
File:Pete Ham Pink Sash.jpg Peter Ham April 24, 1975 Suicide by hanging. Keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger.
Gary Thain December 8, 1975 Drug overdose. Former bassist of Uriah Heep.
Helmut Köllen May 3, 1977 Carbon monoxide poisoning. Bassist with 1970s German prog rock band Triumvirat.
Chris Bell December 27, 1978 Car wreck; ran into a telephone pole. Singer-songwriter and guitarist of power pop band Big Star and solo.
Jacob Miller March 23, 1980 Car wreck. Jamaican reggae artist and lead singer for Inner Circle.
File:Dboon.JPG D. Boon December 22, 1985 Lying down in the back of a van when it veered off road, he was ejected from the vehicle and broke his neck. Guitarist, lead singer of punk band the Minutemen.
Alexander Bashlachev February 17, 1988 Suicide by jumping Russian poet, rock musician and songwriter
Jean-Michel Basquiat August 12, 1988 Speedball overdose. Painter and graffiti artist; formed the band Gray.
Pete de Freitas June 14, 1989 Motorcycle wreck on his way back from filming a music video. Drummer for Echo & the Bunnymen.
Mia Zapata July 7, 1993 Murdered. Lead singer of the Gits.
File:Kristen2.jpg Kristen Pfaff June 16, 1994 Officially ruled as an accidental heroin overdose. Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe.
File:Richey james edwards live.jpg Richey James Edwards c. February 1, 1995 Disappeared; officially presumed dead November 23, 2008. Lyricist and guitarist for Manic Street Preachers.
Fat Pat February 3, 1998 Shot. Rapper and member of Screwed Up Click.
Freaky Tah March 28, 1999 Shot. Popular rapper and member of the rap group Lost Boyz.
Sean Patrick McCabe August 28, 2000 Asphyxiated on vomit after ingesting too much alcohol. Lead singer of Ink & Dagger.
Maria Serrano Serrano November 24, 2001 Plane Crash. Background singer for Passion Fruit (band)
Jeremy Michael Ward May 25, 2003 Heroin overdose. The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator.
Bryan Ottoson April 19, 2005 Prescription drug overdose. Guitarist for American Head Charge.
File:Orish2.jpg Orish Grinstead c. April 20, 2008 Kidney failure. Founding member of '90s R&B group 702.


Others Who Died One Year Before or After 27

File:27 club graph.png
This graph shows the number of musicians that have died at certain ages. There is a noticeable spike of those who died at age 27.

Notable musicians who died at the age of 26 or 28, listed below. The number of notable musicians listed here that die at age 26 is at 8, and the number of those that died when they where 28 years old is 11. The number of notable musicians that are listed in this article and died within their 27th year, is 37, indicating a statistical spike.

Name Date of death Cause of death Fame
Otis Redding December 10, 1967 (age 26) Airplane accident. Famous R&B singer ("Dock of the Bay").
Gram Parsons September 19, 1973 (age 26) Heroin overdose. Pioneer of country rock, member of the Byrds.
Bobby Bloom February 28, 1974 (age 28) Murder (gunshot). Singer, famous for the song "Montego Bay".
Nick Drake November 25, 1974 (age 26) Accidental overdose
on the anti-depressant amitriptyline. 		Influential 1970s English singer/songwriter.
Tim Buckley June 29, 1975 (age 28) Heroin overdose. Influential 1970s singer/songwriter.
Steve Gaines October 20, 1977 (age 28) Airplane accident. Guitarist with the band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Gregory Herbert January 1, 1978 (age 28) Drug overdose. Sax player in latter-day version
of Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Jimmy McCullough September 27, 1979 (age 26) Heroin overdose. Guitarist with the bands
Thunderclap Newman and Wings.
John Glascock November 17, 1979 (age 28) Heart problems. Bass guitarist with Jethro Tull
from 1976 to 1979.
Hillel Slovak June 25, 1988 (age 26) Heroin overdose. Original guitarist with the band
Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Victor Tsoi August 15, 1990 (age 28) Car accident. Frontman and lead singer of Russian band
Kino.
Shannon Hoon October 21, 1995 (age 28) Cocaine overdose. Frontman and lead singer of Blind Melon.
Bradley Nowell May 25, 1996 (age 28) Heroin overdose. Lead singer and Guitarist of
Sublime.
Jason Thirsk July 29, 1996 (age 28) Suicide (gunshot). Bassist with the band Pennywise.
Audie Pitre January 23, 1997 (age 26) Hit head-on by a drunk driver. Bassist for Acid Bath
Tim Taylor May 23, 1997 (age 28) Car accident. Guitarist/Vocalist for Brainiac
Jonas Bruce October 8, 1997 (age 28) Asthma attack. Bassist in Afro Celt Sound System
and son of Cream bassist Jack Bruce.
Kami June 21, 1999 (age 26) Brain hemorrhage. Drummer for the Japanese band Malice Mizer.
Tose Proeski October 16, 2007 (age 26) Car crash. Macedonian singer and songwriter.

Cultural impact

Several books and films have been made referencing the 27 Club. A 2008 film, The 27 Club, staring Joe Anderson, tells a fictional account of a singer named Elliot who becomes the last member of his band when his best friend commits suicide a week after his 27th birthday.

Notes

  1. ^ The 27 Club from BBC Radio 2. Access date 19 June, 2007
  2. ^ Malu, Berges Y, "The 27 Club" in Split Magazine, May 20, 2007. Access date 19, June, 2007
  3. ^ a b c d Cross, Charles R., "P-I's Writer in Residence Charles R. Cross explores the darker side of 'only the good die young'" in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 23 February, 2007. Access date 19, June, 2007
  4. ^ "The 27 Club: Musicians Who Died At The Age of 27", UpVenue, February 17, 2009
  5. ^ "Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain". HyperionBooks.com.
  6. ^ Urban dictionary: White lighter
  7. ^ http://forum.grasscity.com/real-life-stories/81150-white-lighter-bad-luck.html
  8. ^ "The 27s — Roster"

References

Further reading

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