The '27 Club' Is Not One That You Want To Join. Here's A Brief History

by N/A, 10 years ago | 4 min read

The lives of celebrities are under a microscope, because their line of work clearly involves putting their likeness in the public eye. Adoring fans try to find meaning in their favorite artists and make a connection between them and the world.

That's where an idea such as 27 Club comes into play. It started with the 1938 death of Robert Johnson (at age 27). Rumors circled about Johnson having sold his soul to the devil, but then a string of deaths from 1969–1971 started connecting the dots.

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Brian Jones was a founding member of the Rolling Stones. As he was being pinched out of the group by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards taking over, his drug and alcohol abuse began to become much worse. On July 3, 1969, he was found dead at age 27.

Jones' death is still a mystery to many speculators on the situation, but reportedly, a mixture of alcohol, drugs and a dive into a swimming pool lead to his untimely passing. This was the first in a string of deaths among famous musicians that started the theory of the 27 Club.

From here, he and Johnson were joined by many highly-acclaimed artists who left fans wondering (to this day) what might have been of their already illustrious careers if they'd had more time to pursue it.

Watching Jimi Hendrix was an 'Experience' in itself. He changed the face of rock 'n' roll forever with powerful psychedelic guitar riffs and an onstage presence that couldn't be matched. Unfortunately, on September 18, 1970, he was found dead at age 27.

The death came of an apparent drug overdose. He apparently took more prescription sleeping pills than he was aware of, which caused him to vomit and asphyxiate while asleep, leading to his death. Hendrix was just the next in line of the 27 Club, which at this point wasn't really a connection being made.

Next came the death of Janis Joplin on October 4, 1970 of a heroin overdose at age 27. Joplin wowed audiences with Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band.

The passion in Joplin's voice during live performances and recording sessions alike is incomparable among the music industry. It was that passion that may have been a part of her passing. After a recording session "A Woman Left Lonely" she returned to her Hollywood hotel room. At the time she knew was being taken for granted by her boyfriend. That feeling of sadness and having just recorded an ode to loneliness could've been what lead to her overdosed state of mind.

It continued with the death of The Doors lead singer Jim Morrison in July 3, 1971, of a heroin overdose in a Paris apartment bathtub.

Morrison was known for his wild public persona and onstage antics–these are the qualities that lead to a cult following of frontman Morrison and the band named after the quote: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."

However, even with the fourth death of a legendary rock star in just three years all at the age of 27, and a connection to Robert Johnson back in the 30s, the idea of the 27 Club was mostly ignored for a two decades.

It wasn't until the April 5, 1994, suicide of Kurt Cobain that people really started to piece this mysterious musical puzzle together. Cobain, as Nirvana's frontman, brought a new style that hadn't been heard before, and it was the sound of a generation.

An excerpt from his suicide note explains his state of mind at the time:

"I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what i used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can't stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I've become."

After Cobain passed, music fanatics began to look back over the years and make connections to this mysterious age of 27 and just how many deaths were associated with it. For instance, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan of the Grateful Dead.

Seen pictured in the back smoking a cigarette, Pigpen was a founding member of the Dead, but had a massive drinking problem. He died on March 8, 1973, of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage, which is most likely due to the fact he began drinking heavily when he was just 12 years old.

Then, there's Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, guitarist of Canned Heat, who passed at age 27 on September 3, 1970 after an overdose on barbiturates.

Wilson, pictured fourth from the left, had a lifelong struggle with depression and was estranged from his family–not unlike many of the 27s.

The '27s' of which, there are a massive amount. This extensive list of musicians dying at this precise age only makes the theory behind the 'club' seem even more concrete. Just to name a few, there is:

• Dave Alexander–bassist, The Stooges–died February 10, 1975
• Pete Ham–keyboards and guitar, Badfinger–died April 24, 1975
• Chris Bell–singer-songwriter and guitarist, Big Star–died December 27, 1978
• Pete de Freitas–drummer, Echo & the Bunnymen–died June 14, 1989
• Kristen Pfaff–bassist, Hole–died June 16, 1994

Interestingly, Pfaff was in Hole which was lead by Courtney Love who was dating Cobain at the time of his suicide. Pfaff's death was just a few months later.

These are just a few of the more widely popular artist throughout history to have joined the 27 Club, but there are many more, of which you can read the exhaustive list here.

Most recently, the '27 Club' unfortunately added Amy Winehouse on July 23, 2011, due to alcohol poisoning.

As the club continues to grow, fans grow more and more aware of its existence. The connection between a vibrant lifestyle, dealing with the pressures of fame, trying to live up to fan expectations and most of which dealt with depression. Some felt imprisoned by their public image and simply couldn't keep up with it anymore.

With all of this swirling around on a daily basis, it's no surprise many musicians die at a premature age compared to the rest of us, but the distinction of 27 is highly odd.

You can watch this overview of many members of the '27 Club' detailing their rise to fame, their career and their tragic deaths by viewing this video from Watch Mojo:

Their legacies will live on forever, but it's sad that fans couldn't experience their brilliance for longer than they did. Sure, we have their music, which is timeless and still influential, but not having them around (while hopefully continuing to put out masterful music) is what makes joining this club all the more sad.

If you're not done exploring the minds of the '27 Club' this user-generated Spotify playlist has some of the biggest hits from all the names associated with death at 27. Listen to it here, or save it for later:

The legend of the 27 Club will live on forever, but fans can only hope it doesn't claim more minds of the industry. The fact is, the entire thing is most-likely a coincidence, but it's hard to deny just how many iconic musicians haven't been able to make it past this age. If it proves it's this: these people were clearly larger than life, because they changed the world before 27–something most of us could never equate ourselves to.