Jump to content

27 Club

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 12.175.119.20 (talk) at 15:06, 6 November 2009 (→‎Other musicians who died at 27). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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]

Musicians usually included in the 27 Club

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
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 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]

Name Date of death Cause of death Fame
Alexandre Levy January 17, 1892 Unknown. Composer. Fused classical composition with Brazil’s popular folk music and rhythms.
New York Yankees November 4, 2009 Unknown. Bankrolled steroid infested MLB Team.
Louis Chauvin March 26, 1908 Neurosyphilitic sclerosis. Ragtime musician.
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 August 5, 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 20, 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.
Arlester "Dyke" Christian March 13, 1971 Shot. Frontman and vocalist of Dyke & the Blazers.
Linda Jones March 14, 1972 Diabetic coma. R&B singer.
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan March 8, 1973 Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism. Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead.
Roger Lee Durham July 27, 1973 Fell off a horse and died from the injuries. Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone.
Wallace Yohn August 12, 1974 Died in a plane crash along with three other band members. Organ player of Chase.
Dave Alexander February 10, 1975 Pulmonary edema. Bassist for the Stooges.
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.
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.
Kristen Pfaff June 16, 1994 Officially ruled as an accidental heroin overdose. Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe.
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.
Rodrigo Bueno June 24, 2000 Automobile Accident. Argentine cuarteto singer.
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.
Valentín Elizalde November 25, 2006 Murdered. Mexican banda singer.
Orish Grinstead c. April 20, 2008 Kidney failure. Founding member of '90s R&B group 702.
Lily Tembo September 14, 2009 severe gastritis. Zambian musician.

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 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

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=27_Club&oldid=324284898"