The 27 Club
Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison all died at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971. At the time, the coincidence gave rise to some comment. According to Hendrix and Kurt Cobain’s biographer, Charles R. Cross: “It wasn’t until Kurt Cobain took his own life in 1994 that the idea of the 27 Club arrived in the popular zeitgeist.” Cross claims that the “launch of the Club concept” can be traced to the growing influence of the Internet and sensational celebrity journalism on popular culture in the years following Cobain’s death.
Jimi Hendrix
His mastery of the electric guitar and his use of feedback, distortion, and revolutionary playing techniques redefined the instrument’s possibilities. Hendrix’s stage presence and electrifying performances, highlighted by his iconic rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock in 1969, cemented his place as a music legend.
On 18th Sept 1970, Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Mary Abbot’s Hospital in London at the age of 27 after choking on his own vomit. Hendrix left the message ‘I need help bad man’, on his managers answer phone earlier that night. Rumours and conspiracy theories grew up around Hendrix’s death. Eric Burdon claimed Jimi had committed suicide, but that’s contradicted by reports that he was in a good frame of mind. In 2009, a former Animals Roadie published a book claiming that Jimi’s manager had admitted to him that he arranged the murder of Hendrix, since the guitarist wanted out of his contract.
Janis Joplin
Janice Joplin was from the same Woodstock generation as Morrison and Hendrix, when drug use was tolerated if one had the talent to back it up. Joplin certainly did, with one of history’s greatest singing voices.
Janis made her last recordings on October 1, 1970, when she laid down ‘Mercedes Benz’ and a birthday greeting for John Lennon, whose birthday was October 9 (Lennon later told of how her taped greeting arrived at his home after her death). On Saturday, October 3, Joplin attended Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles to listen to instrumental tracks prior to recording her vocals, which were scheduled for the next day. She never returned.
When Joplin failed to show up at Sunset Sound Recorders for the next recording session by Sunday afternoon, producer Paul A. Rothchild became concerned. Full Tilt Boogie’s road manager, John Cooke, drove to the Landmark. He saw Joplin’s Porsche in the parking lot. Upon entering her room, he found her dead on the floor beside her bed. The official cause of death was an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.
Brian Jones
Brian Jones had struggled with drugs and alcohol and had a heavily enlarged liver and heart when he died. Founding member of the Stones, had become so much of a burden with his drinking and drugs that he was kicked out of the band in 1969. Was foul play involved? One interesting point to note is that the coroner’s report stated drowning ‘in freshwater’, no chlorinated swimming pool water. Jones’ property had a fresh water trough not far from his pool…
At around midnight on the night of 2–3 July 1969, Jones was discovered motionless at the bottom of his swimming pool at the Farm. His Swedish girlfriend, Anna Wohlin, was convinced he was alive when they took him out, insisting he still had a pulse. However, by the time the doctors arrived, it was too late, and he was pronounced dead.
Allegations of murder have surfaced since that fateful day. Wohlin claimed in 1999 that Jones had been murdered by a builder who had been renovating the house. The builder, Frank Thorogood, allegedly confessed to the murder on his deathbed to the Rolling Stones’ driver, Tom Keylock, who later denied this. In the book The Murder of Brian Jones, Wohlin alleges that Thorogood behaved suspiciously and showed little sympathy when Jones was discovered in the pool (he was the last to see Jones alive), but she has stated that he was not present at Jones’s death.
Jim Morrison
Iconic Doors frontman was one of the original members of this somewhat dubious club. In the 6 years that the Doors were a band, Morrison went from shy poet to cultural icon, defining the role of ‘rock n roll frontman’ for everybody since.
Morrison had developed a severe alcohol and drug dependency, which culminated in his untimely death. In March 1971, to get away from the court cases, Morrison flew with his girlfriend to Paris where they took up residence in the city in a rented apartment on the Rue Beautreillis (on the Right Bank).
Morrison died on July 3, 1971, at age 27. In the official account of his death, he was found in a Paris apartment bathtub by his girlfriend Pam Courson. Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner stated that there was no evidence of foul play. The absence of an official autopsy has left many questions regarding Morrison’s cause of death.
Morrison, who didn’t write songs using an instrument, would come up with melodies for his own lyrics, with the other band members contributing chords and rhythm. He didn’t play any instrument live (except for maracas on a few occasions) or in the studio. Morrison was the perfect rock and roll frontman — wild, sexy, and unpredictable.
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain’s band Nirvana had become a sensation – one of the biggest bands in the world – and the world was at Cobain’s feet. Years of striving for success had brought him to the place he’d always wanted to be, and what he found brought him to a level of despair he wasn’t able to live with.
During the last years of his life, Cobain struggled with heroin addiction, illness and depression. He also had difficulty coping with his fame and public image, and the professional and lifelong personal pressures surrounding himself and his wife, musician Courtney Love. On April 8, 1994, Cobain was found dead at his home in Seattle, the victim of what was officially ruled a suicide by a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. The circumstances of his death at age 27 have become a topic of public fascination and debate. Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, has sold over 25 million albums in the US, and over 50 million worldwide.
Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse was a celebrated British singer and songwriter known for her powerful voice, emotive performances, and distinct blend of soul, jazz, and R&B. Born on September 14, 1983, in London, she quickly rose to fame with her debut album, Frank, in 2003, which garnered critical acclaim and established her as a rising star in the music industry. However, her second album, Back to Black (2006), propelled her to global fame.
In 2007 she won a Brit Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She won the Ivor Novello Award three times: once in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for “Stronger Than Me”, once in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for “Rehab”, and once in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for “Love Is a Losing Game”.
On 23rd July 2011, Amy Winehouse was found dead at her north London home, she was 27. London Ambulance Service said it had been called to the flat at 15.54 BST and sent two vehicles but the woman died. The troubled singer had a long battle with drink and drugs, which overshadowed her recent musical career.
Richey Edwards
Richey Edwards was initially a driver and roadie for the Welsh group Manic Street Preachers. Edwards suffered from severe depression and was open about it in interviews. He self-harmed, mainly through stubbing cigarettes on his arms and cutting himself. Edwards also suffered from insomnia and used alcohol to help himself sleep at night. Before the release of The Holy Bible in 1994, he checked into Whitchurch Hospital and later the Priory Hospital, missing out on some of the promotional work for the album and forcing the band to appear as a three-piece at the Reading Festival and T in the Park.
Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995, on the day when he and singer James Bradfield were due to fly to the United States on a promotional tour of The Holy Bible. In the two weeks before his disappearance, Edwards withdrew £200 a day from his bank account, which totalled £2,800 by the day of the scheduled flight. He reportedly checked out of a hotel at 7:00 a.m., leaving his toiletries, packed suitcase and some of his Prozac. He then drove to his flat in Cardiff, leaving behind his passport, his Prozac and a Severn Bridge tollbooth receipt. Edwards mysteriously disappeared, never to be found. Having gone missing at age 27, Edwards is presumed dead.
Gary Thain (Uriah Heep)
Gary Thain the bassist for Uriah Heep died at his flat in London, England of respiratory failure due to a heroin overdose, on 8 December 1975, aged 27. Born in Christchurch New Zealand he travelled to London in late 1966, and once jammed with Jimi Hendrix. Thain joined the Keef Hartley Band, performing at Woodstock in 1969, and then became a member of Uriah Heep who were part of the early 1970s rock scene and have been referred to as major pioneers of the hard rock, heavy metal and progressive rock genres.
Due to his drug addiction he was not able to perform properly he was fired by the band in early 1975.
Pete Ham (Badfinger)
1974 was, for Badfinger, the culmination of a series of events that would keep lawyers and accountants busy for years. The individual group members found themselves impoverished and in debt despite their years of work, and with little prospect of seeing any of their money at any time soon. The group’s affairs, already a shambles, had turned into a nightmare. Ham co-wrote the ballad “Without You”, a worldwide number-one hit for Harry Nilsson (and later Mariah Carey) that has become a standard covered by hundreds of artists.
On the night of 23 April 1975, Ham received a phone call from the United States, telling him that all his money had disappeared. Later that night he met band member Tom Evans and they went to The White Hart Pub in Surrey together, where Ham drank ten whiskies. Evans drove him home at three o’clock on the morning of 24 April 1975. Ham hanged himself in his garage studio in Woking later that morning. He left behind a pregnant girlfriend, who gave birth to their daughter one month after his death. His suicide note had the statement, “I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better.”
Robert Johnson
American blues musician and songwriter pioneer Robert Johnson is so shrouded in mystery. Innovative playing, a love of moonshine, a pact with the devil at midnight at the crossroads… there is so little known about Robert Johnson.
There’s the lack of a grave location and the mystery of his death itself. The poisoning story is all we have to go on, so it serves as fact when in fact no facts are available. Still, the idea of a jealous husband taking revenge on the womanising musician is certainly poetic, as are the constant references of ‘walking with the devil’ and ‘hellhounds’ by his side. Johnson died on August 16, 1938, at the age of 27, near Greenwood, Mississippi, of unknown causes. Johnson’s death was not reported publicly.
Eric Clapton stated: “Robert Johnson to me is the most important blues musician who ever lived”. Clapton recorded several of Johnson’s songs as well as an entire tribute album, Me and Mr. Johnson (2004). Led Zeppelin recorded Johnson’s “Traveling Riverside Blues” and quoted some of Johnson’s lyrics in “The Lemon Song“. The Rolling Stones recorded “Love in Vain” and “Stop Breaking Down”.
Chris Bell (Big Star)
American musician and singer-songwriter Chris Bell with Alex Chilton, led the 70s band Big Star. Described as the “quintessential American power pop band and “one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll”. Chris Bell died on 27 Dec 1978 after losing control of his Triumph TR7 sports car, on his way home from a band rehearsal. The car struck a wooden light pole on the side of the road. The pole fell and killed him instantly. He was 27.
Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson
The American blues and rock band Canned Heat formed in Los Angeles in 1965. After appearances at the Monterey and Woodstock festivals at the end of the 1960s, the band acquired worldwide fame.
Canned Heat guitarist, singer and harmonica player Alan Wilson despised touring and travelling by plane. He often missed flights, and the band would fly without him while he caught a later flight. When he missed his September 2 flight, this did not raise any alarms. On September 3, 1970, Wilson was found dead in his sleeping bag on the hillside behind Hite’s Topanga Canyon home where he often slept. He was 27 years old. Wilson had overdosed on barbiturates. Whether it was an accident or suicide has never been determined, though Wilson had suffered from depression and reportedly attempted to end his life previously.
Kristen Pfaff
Seminal Seattle grungers Hole had a modern day icon in their frontwoman Courtney Love, but bassist Kristen Pfaff was gearing up to be a star in her own right. Previously a member of Janitor Joe, Pfaff joined Hole in 1993 in time to contribute to their seminal Live Through This album, but Pfaff’s heroin habit sadly got the better of her.
On June 16, 1994, Pfaff was found dead in her Seattle apartment by Paul Erickson, a friend with whom she had planned to leave for Minneapolis that day. She was 27 years old. On the floor was a bag containing syringes and drug paraphernalia. Pfaff’s death was attributed to “acute opiate intoxication”. She died two months after Kurt Cobain, who was a close friend as well as the husband of Hole’s frontwoman Courtney Love.
Dave Alexander (The Stooges)
Dave Alexander, the original bassist for influential proto-punk band The Stooges died of pneumonia and an inflamed pancreas in 1975 at the age of 27. Alexander’s alcohol abuse reportedly contributed to the bassist’s early demise. During The Stooges’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, Iggy Pop paid tribute to Alexander during his speech and Pop references Alexander in the spoken intro to “Dum Dum Boys” on his 1977 album The Idiot.
Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan (The Grateful Dead)
Grateful Dead keyboardist and vocalist Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan was a founding member of the San Francisco band and played in the group from 1965 to 1972. Unlike the other members of the Grateful Dead, McKernan avoided psychedelic drugs, preferring to drink alcohol (namely whiskey and flavored fortified wine). By 1971, his health had been affected by alcoholism and liver damage and doctors advised him to stop touring.
McKernan died at his home in Corte Madera, California, on March 8, 1973 from internal hemorrhaging caused by excessive drinking. A former lover of Janis Joplin, Pigpen died less than three years after the songstress.
Jeremy Michael Ward (The Mars Volta)
Mars Volta “sound manipulator” Jeremy Michael Ward passed away at the age of 27 from an apparent heroin overdose on May 25, 2003, just months before the Mars Volta released their debut album, De-Loused in the Comatorium. Band members Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-López have stated that Ward’s death inspired them to kick their own addictions. Ward had also worked as a repo man, and an anonymous diary that he had found while repossessing a car became the basis for the lyrics in the next Mars Volta album, Frances the Mute.
Leslie Harvey (Stone the Crows)
Perhaps the most bizarre death on this list, Stone the Crow guitarist Leslie Harvey was electrocuted by a live microphone in 1972. 1,000 fans in Swansea, Wales witnessed the fatal accident when he touched a microphone that was not earthed while the fingers of his other hand were holding the strings of his guitar.
He was the brother of Alex Harvey and had worked with him in the Alex Harvey Soul Band. He later joined the Blues Council, another Scottish band. In 1969, Harvey joined the Scottish band Cartoone to record some tracks for their second album. He also accompanied Cartoone on their live tour of the United States supporting Led Zeppelin. They also supported the US band Spirit in 1969. Harvey was a co-founder of The Blues rock and progressive soul band Stone the Crows in late 1969 with singer Maggie Bell.
Pete de Freitas (Echo & the Bunnyman)
Pete de Freitas was the drummer in Echo & the Bunnymen, and performed on their first five albums. The English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Their 1980 debut album Crocodiles went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart and after releasing their second album Heaven Up Here in 1981, the band’s cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK. In 1983 when they scored a UK Top 10 hit with “The Cutter”, and the album which the song came from, Porcupine, hit number 2 in the UK. Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band’s UK chart success with its lead single “The Killing Moon” entering into the top 10.
Pete de Freitas died in a motorcycle accident in 1989 at the age of 27, on his way to Liverpool from London. He was riding a 900cc Ducati motorcycle on the A51 road in Longdon Green, Staffordshire, when he collided with a motor vehicle.
