The myth of the “27 Club” was birthed during the late 60s and early 70s era of rock and roll. The myth is simple yet grave. The 27 Club is a term that refers to the belief that an unusual number of musicians have died at age 27, many of drug and alcohol abuse.
Now I’m not one for any type of myths or things of that nature but as I dug deeper into the crazy beliefs behind the “27 Club”, I couldn’t help but to become filled with an eerie feeling. The number of musicians who died at 27 is actually quite astounding. Although humans die regularly at all ages, there is oddly quite a few number of musicians who have perished at the young age of 27 and a handful of them from the same cause of death.
The 27 Club is sadly full of well rounded, popular musicians who were just gone too soon. I’ve complied a list of a few of the most notable members of the club:
Dickie Pride
Rock and roll singer
27 years, 156 days
Brian Jones
Rolling Stones founder, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist
27 years, 125 days
Jimi Hendrix
Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter for the Jimi Hendrix Experience
27 years, 295 days
Janis Joplin
Lead vocalist and songwriter for Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band
27 years, 258 days
Jim Morrison
Singer, lyricist, and leader of the Doors
27 years, 207 days
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan
Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead
27 years, 181 days
Dave Alexander
Bassist for the Stooges
27 years, 252 days
D. Boon
Guitarist, lead singer of punk band the Minutemen
27 years, 266 days
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Painter and graffiti artist; formed the band Gray
27 years, 234 days
Mia Zapata
Lead singer of the Gits
27 years, 316 days
Kurt Cobain
Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Nirvana
27 years, 44 days
Kristen Pfaff
Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe
27 years, 21 days
Maria Serrano Serrano
Background singer for Passion Fruit
27 years, 363 days
Amy Winehouse
Singer-songwriter
27 years, 312 days
Anton Yelchin
Actor, guitarist for The Hammerheads
27 years, 100 days
Even though there were a handful of people in the Rock and Roll world to die at the age of 27 before the 60s the deaths of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin who all died between 1969 and 1971 is really what brought the strange coincidence and idea to the publics attention. The death of Kurt Cobain 2 full decades later is what really brought the myth of the 27 club to life.
People began to dig deeper and a found not only celebrities from the continental US but all over the world dying at the tender age of 27. In many of these cases, drugs were to blame but a few come with even creepier background stories such as murder, plane crashes and even a death by misadventure.
As stated before, I’m not one for believing or feeding into myths and tall tales but I would be liar to say that reading books and theories about the topic isn’t satisfyingly entertaining. Some of the theorist come up with strong, convoluted arguments backed with evidence that is just too hard to ignore.
I wouldn’t say I’m a believer but I wouldn’t close the door on the idea of 27 Club just yet.
So I challenge you to go out, do some reading and come up with a final decision of your own.
Are you or are you not a believer of the ill-fated 27 Club?
