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27 Club

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The 27 Club, also occasionally known as the Forever 27 Club or Club 27, is a name for a group of influential rock music artists who died at the age of 27. The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll details the history of the phenomenon.

Musicians usually included in the 27 Club

The impetus for the club's creation were the deaths of Jones, Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison.[1] Cobain, who died in 1994, was later added by some. With the exception of Joplin, there is controversy surrounding their deaths. 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.[2] On the fifteenth anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, National Public Radio's Robert Smith said, "The deaths of these rock stars at the age of 27 really changed the way we look at rock music."[3] The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll details the history of the phenomenon.

Picture Name Date of death Official cause of death Fame Age
File:Brian Jones 1965.jpg Brian Jones July 3, 1969 Drowned in a swimming pool.[4] The coroner's report stated "death by misadventure."[5] Rolling Stones founder and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist. 27 years and 125 days
Jimi Hendrix September 18, 1970 Autopsy showed he asphyxiated on vomit after combining sleeping pills with wine.[6] Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys. 27 years and 295 days
File:Janisjoplin.png Janis Joplin October 4, 1970 Probable heroin overdose.[7] 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 Cause of death listed as "heart failure"; however, no autopsy was performed.[8] Lead singer, songwriter and video director for The Doors. 27 years and 207 days
Kurt Cobain April 5, 1994 Ruled as suicide by shotgun.[9] Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Nirvana. 27 years and 44 days

Other musicians who died at 27

Some lists include other musicians who died at age 27.[10][11] 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."[10]

References

Further reading

Template:Link GA

Name Date of death Cause of death Claim to notability
Amy Winehouse July 23, 2011 Breaking Story. R&B, Soul, Jazz.
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 27 club.
Nat Jaffe August 5, 1945 Result of complications from high blood pressure. Blues musician.
Jesse Belvin February 6, 1960 Car crash. 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.
Dickie Pride March 26, 1969 Overdose of sleeping pills. British rock and roll singer.
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.
Les Harvey May 3, 1972 Electrocution by live microphone after touching it with his wet hands. Guitarist for Stone the Crows.
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.
Pete 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 and The Keef Hartley Band.
Cecilia August 2, 1976 Car crash Spanish singer
Helmut Köllen May 3, 1977 Carbon monoxide poisoning. Bassist with 1970s German prog rock band Triumvirat.
Chris Bell December 27, 1978 Car crash: ran into a telephone pole. Singer-songwriter and guitarist of power pop band Big Star and solo.
Jacob Miller March 23, 1980 Car crash. 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
Stretch November 30, 1995 Shot Rapper
Fat Pat February 3, 1998 Shot. Rapper and member of Screwed Up Click.
Freaky Tah March 28, 1999 Shot. Rapper and member of the hip hop group Lost Boyz.
Sean Patrick McCabe August 28, 2000 Asphyxiated on vomit after ingesting too much alcohol. Lead singer of Ink & Dagger.
Rodrigo Bueno June 24, 2000 Car accident Argentinian Cuarteto singer.
Maria Serrano Serrano November 24, 2001 Plane crash. Background singer for Passion Fruit.
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.
Amy Winehouse July 23, 2011 Waking the Dragon English singer-songwriter
  1. ^ "The 27 Club: Musicians Who Died At The Age of 27", UpVenue, February 17, 2009
  2. ^ "Heavier than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain". HyperionBooks.com.
  3. ^ "Before I Get Old: The 27s Made Early Exits", NPR, April 5, 2009
  4. ^ http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/brian_jones/
  5. ^ Wyman 2002, p. 329
  6. ^ The Final Days, Tony Brown excerpt quoted in http://woodstockhendrix.gobot.com/about.html
  7. ^ The Washington Post. May 11, 1998 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/features/joplin.htm. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Walt, Vivienne (July 19, 2007). "Postcard: Paris". Time. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  9. ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence. (March 3, 1998)"Footlights", New York Times
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Cross was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "The 27s — Roster"
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