27 Club

File:Graffiti Tel Aviv, Khayim Ben Atar St - zoom.jpg

27 Club street mural in Tel Aviv by John Kiss, depicting several well-known members of the club. Left to right: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse.

The 27 Club is an informal list consisting mostly of popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27. Although the claim of a "statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age has been refuted by scientific research, it remains a cultural phenomenon, with many celebrities who die at 27 noted for their high-risk lifestyles.

Cultural phenomenon

Beginning with the deaths of several 27-year-old popular musicians between 1969 and 1971 (such as Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison), dying at the age of 27 came to be, and remains, a perennial subject of popular culture, celebrity journalism, and entertainment industry lore. This cultural phenomenon, which came to be known as the "27 Club," attributes special significance to popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse or violent means such as homicide, suicide, or transportation-related accidents. The cultural phenomenon gave rise to an urban myth that celebrity deaths are more common at 27, a claim that has been refuted by statistical research as discussed in the § Scientific studies section below.

History

Jim Morrison, lead singer of the rock band the Doors and among the first people associated with 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, but, 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, as well as media interpretations of a statement by Cobain's mother, Wendy Fradenburg Cobain O'Connor, quoted in the local Aberdeen, Washington, newspaper The Daily World, and subsequently carried worldwide by the Associated Press: "Now he's gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to join that stupid club." Many contemporary journalists interpreted her words as referring to the infamous untimely deaths of fellow rock musicians like Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison, a view shared by Cross and R. Gary Patterson, chronicler of rock music urban myth.

That's really selfish to live to 90 years old unless you have something to offer like maybe William Burroughs. I definitely don't want to be that old. I feel more bonded with the Jim Morrison type of living on the edge, rock & roll poet, in a conservative way.
–Kurt Cobain

The intended meaning of "that stupid club" referred to by Cobain's mother is disputed. In his analysis of how her quote helped popularize the 27 Club, Eric Segalstad, author of The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll, asserted that she was actually referring to the "tragic family matter" of Cobain's two uncles and his great-uncle, all of whom had committed suicide. Other contemporary journalists linked her quote to the then-recent heroin-related deaths of fellow young Seattle rock musicians Stefanie Sargent of 7 Year Bitch and Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone, both aged 24. Cross, himself, dismissed "the absurd notion that Kurt Cobain intentionally timed his death so he could join the 27 Club," noting that Cobain "had nearly died from drug overdoses on at least two dozen occasions in the year before his death... [and] made several previous suicide attempts at various ages.

In 2011, seventeen years after Cobain's death, Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27, prompting a renewed swell of media attention devoted to the 27 Club. Three years earlier, Winehouse's personal assistant, Alex Haines, told the British press that Winehouse, then 25, feared she would join Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, and Kurt Cobain in dying at 27: "She reckoned she would join the 27 Club of rock stars who died at that age. She told me, 'I have a feeling I'm gonna die young'."

Scientific studies

Despite the cultural significance given to musician and celebrity deaths at age 27, the common claim that they are statistically more common at this age is an urban myth, refuted by scientific research.

A study by university academics published in the British Medical Journal in December 2011 concluded that there was no increase in the risk of death for musicians at the age of 27, stating that there were equally small increases at ages 25 and 32. The study noted that young adult musicians have a higher death rate than the general young adult population, surmising that "fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27".

A 2014 article at The Conversation suggested that statistical evidence shows popular musicians are most likely to die at the age of 56 (2.2% compared to 1.3% at 27).

In popular culture

The 27 Club frequently appears by name and reference in popular culture and mass media. Several exhibitions have been devoted to the idea, as well as novels, films, stage plays, songs, video games, and comics.

Music

• The name of the song "27" by Fall Out Boy from their 2008 album Folie à Deux is a reference to the club. The lyrics explore the hedonistic lifestyles common in rock and roll. Pete Wentz, the primary lyricist of Fall Out Boy, wrote the song because he felt that he was living a similarly dangerous lifestyle.
• John Craigie's song "28", which appeared on his 2009 album Montana Tale, and 2018 live album Opening for Steinbeck, is written from the perspective of 27 Club members Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain, as each contemplates their respective mortality and imagines what they would do differently "if I could only make it to twenty eight." Craigie wrote the song when he himself was age 27.
• The theme is referenced in the song "27 Forever" by Eric Burdon, on his 2013 album 'Til Your River Runs Dry.
• Magenta's 2013 studio album The Twenty Seven Club directly references the club. Each track is a tribute to a member of the club.
• Halsey's song "Colors," from her 2015 debut album, Badlands, includes the line "I hope you make it to the day you're 28 years old."
• JPEGMafia's 2016 album Black Ben Carson includes a song titled "The 27 Club", which the song refers to the club. He references members Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain.
• Adore Delano released a song called "27 Club" on her 2017 studio album Whatever, with the repeated lyric "All of the legends die at twenty seven." Delano was aged 27 at the time of release.
• Juice Wrld referenced the club on his 2018 song "Legends", where he says "What's the 27 Club? We ain't making it past 21." The song was dedicated to XXXTentacion, who was killed at 20, and Lil Peep, who died from an overdose at 21.

Video games

• In the 2016 video game Hitman, one of the in-game missions, Club 27, involves killing an indie musician who is celebrating his 27th birthday.

Identified members

Because the 27 Club is only metaphoric, there is no official membership. The table below lists individuals explicitly described as "members" of the 27 Club by journalists and writers in various books and publications.

Some deaths linked to the 27 Club pre-date its emergence as a cultural phenomenon. Blues musician Robert Johnson, who died in 1938, is one of the earliest popular musicians included by various sources.

Despite the club's original association with the deaths of popular musicians, later sources began to link actors, artists, athletes, and other celebrities to the 27 Club. Rolling Stone included television actor Jonathan Brandis, who committed suicide in 2003, in a list of 27 Club members. Anton Yelchin, who had played in a punk rock band but was primarily known as a film actor, was also described as a member of the club upon his death in 2016. Likewise, Jean-Michel Basquiat has been linked to the club despite being known primarily as a painter, with his music career being relatively brief and obscure.

Purported 27 Club members

Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Cause of death	Fame	Age	Sources
Joseph Merrick	August 5, 1862	April 11, 1890	Dislocated neck	Man with severe physical deformities known as "The Elephant Man"
Alexandre Levy	November 10, 1864	January 17, 1892	Not recorded	Composer, pianist and conductor
Louis Chauvin	March 13, 1881	March 26, 1908	Neurosyphilitic sclerosis	Ragtime musician
Rupert Brooke	August 3, 1887	April 23, 1915	Sepsis	Poet
Robert Johnson	May 8, 1911	August 16, 1938	Unknown	Blues singer and musician
Ghazi of Iraq	March 21, 1912	April 4, 1939	Traffic accident, probable murder.	King of Iraq 1933–1939
Nat Jaffe	January 1, 1918	August 5, 1945	Complications from high blood pressure	Swing jazz pianist
Camilo Cienfuegos	February 6, 1932	October 28, 1959	Unknown, alleged plane crash	Cuban revolutionary
Jesse Belvin	December 15, 1932	February 6, 1960	Car crash, suspected foul play	R&B singer, pianist and songwriter
Rudy Lewis	August 23, 1936	May 20, 1964	Drug overdose	Vocalist of the Drifters
Joe Henderson	April 24, 1937	October 24, 1964	Heart attack	R&B and gospel singer
Malcolm Hale	May 17, 1941	October 30, 1968	Carbon monoxide poisoning	Original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang
Dickie Pride	October 21, 1941	March 26, 1969	Drug overdose	Rock and roll singer
Brian Jones	February 28, 1942	July 3, 1969	Drowning	Rolling Stones founder, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist
Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson	July 4, 1943	September 3, 1970	Drug overdose	Leader, singer and primary composer of Canned Heat
Jimi Hendrix	November 27, 1942	September 18, 1970	Asphyxia due to drug use	Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys
Janis Joplin	January 19, 1943	October 4, 1970	Drug overdose	Lead vocalist and songwriter of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band
Arlester "Dyke" Christian	June 13, 1943	March 13, 1971	Murder	Frontman, vocalist and bassist of Dyke and the Blazers
Jim Morrison	December 8, 1943	July 3, 1971	Heart failure	Singer, lyricist, and leader of the Doors
Leslie Harvey	September 14, 1944	May 3, 1972	Electrocution	Guitarist in several Scottish bands, most notably Stone the Crows.
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan	September 8, 1945	March 8, 1973	Gastrointestinal hemorrhage	Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead
Roger Lee Durham	February 14, 1946	July 27, 1973	Horseriding accident	Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone
Pamela Courson	December 22, 1946	April 25, 1974	Drug overdose	Long-term companion of Jim Morrison and heir to his estate
Wallace "Wally" Yohn	January 12, 1947	August 12, 1974	Plane crash	Organ player of Chase
Dave Alexander	June 3, 1947	February 10, 1975	Pulmonary edema	Bassist of the Stooges
Pete Ham	April 27, 1947	April 24, 1975	Suicide	Singer, songwriter, keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger
Gary Thain	May 15, 1948	December 8, 1975	Drug overdose	Former bassist of Uriah Heep and the Keef Hartley Band
Cecilia	October 11, 1948	August 2, 1976	Car accident	Singer-songwriter
Helmut Köllen	March 2, 1950	May 3, 1977	Carbon monoxide poisoning	Bassist of 1970s prog rock band Triumvirat
André Paiement	June 28, 1950	January 23, 1978	Suicide	Playwright and musician, member of progressive rock band CANO	27 years, 209 days
Chris Bell	January 12, 1951	December 27, 1978	Car accident	Singer-songwriter and guitarist of power pop band Big Star and solo
Zenon De Fleur	September 9, 1951	March 17, 1979	Car accident	Guitarist of the Count Bishops
D. Boon	April 1, 1958	December 22, 1985	Car accident	Guitarist, lead singer of punk band Minutemen
Alexander Bashlachev	May 27, 1960	February 17, 1988	Defenestration, possible suicide	Poet, rock musician and songwriter
Amar Singh Chamkila	July 21, 1960	March 8, 1988	Murder	Singer, songwriter, musician, and composer
Jean-Michel Basquiat	December 22, 1960	August 12, 1988	Drug overdose	Painter and graffiti artist; formed the band Gray
Pete de Freitas	August 2, 1961	June 14, 1989	Motorcycle accident	Drummer of Echo & the Bunnymen
Finbarr Donnelly	April 25, 1962	June 18, 1989	Drowning	Singer of Five Go Down to the Sea?
Chris Austin	February 24, 1964	March 16, 1991	Plane crash	Country singer and guitarist/fiddle player for Reba McEntire
Dimitar Voev	May 21, 1965	September 5, 1992	Cancer	Poet, founder of the Bulgarian new wave band New Generation
Mia Zapata	August 25, 1965	July 7, 1993	Murder	Lead singer of the Gits
Kurt Cobain	February 20, 1967	April 5, 1994 c.	Suicide	Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Nirvana	c.
Kristen Pfaff	May 26, 1967	June 16, 1994	Drug overdose	Bass guitarist of Hole and Janitor Joe
Andrés Escobar	March 13, 1967	July 2, 1994	Murder	Footballer
Richey Edwards	December 22, 1967	February 1, 1995	Disappeared; later declared legally dead	Lyricist and guitarist of Manic Street Preachers
Stretch	April 8, 1968	November 30, 1995	Murder	Rapper
Ken Steadman	June 26, 1969	September 20, 1996	Car accident	American film and television actor
Fat Pat	December 4, 1970	February 3, 1998	Murder	American rapper and member of Screwed Up Click
Louie Spicolli	February 10, 1971	February 15, 1998	Drug overdose	WCW Wrestler	27 years, 5 days
Freaky Tah	May 14, 1971	March 28, 1999	Murder	American rapper and member of the hip-hop group Lost Boyz
Kami	February 1, 1972	June 21, 1999	Subarachnoid hemorrhage	Drummer of Malice Mizer
Sean Patrick McCabe	November 13, 1972	August 28, 2000	Asphyxia	Lead singer of Ink & Dagger
Rodrigo Bueno	May 24, 1973	June 24, 2000	Car accident	Cuarteto singer
María Serrano Serrano	November 26, 1973	November 24, 2001	Plane crash	Singer of Passion Fruit
Thuy Trang	December 14, 1973	September 3, 2001	Car crash	Vietnamese-American actress, known for her role as Trini Kwan on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Rico Yan	March 14, 1975	March 29, 2002	Acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis	Filipino actor
Jeremy Ward	May 5, 1976	May 25, 2003	Drug overdose	The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator
Jonathan Brandis	April 13, 1976	November 12, 2003	Suicide	American actor
Pat Tillman	November 6, 1976	April 22, 2004	Killed in action by friendly fire	Professional football player and United States Army specialist
Andrea Absolonová	December 26, 1976	December 9, 2004	Glioblastoma	Porn actress
Bryan Ottoson	March 18, 1978	April 19, 2005	Drug overdose	Guitarist of American Head Charge
Valentín Elizalde	February 1, 1979	November 25, 2006	Murder	Mexican banda singer
Damien "Damo" Morris	May 22, 1980	December 19, 2007	Bus accident	Member of Australian deathcore band the Red Shore
Orish Grinstead	June 2, 1980	April 20, 2008	Kidney failure	Founding member of the R&B group 702
Jade Goody	June 5, 1981	March 22, 2009	Cervical cancer	Reality-television personality
Dash Snow	July 27, 1981	July 13, 2009	Drug overdose	Artist
Amy Winehouse	September 14, 1983	July 23, 2011	Alcohol poisoning	Singer-songwriter
Richard Turner	July 30, 1984	August 11, 2011	Aortic rupture	Trumpet player, collaborator with Friendly Fires
Nicole Bogner	March 22, 1984	January 6, 2012	Severe disease	Singer for Visions of Atlantis
Sahara Davenport	December 17, 1984	October 1, 2012	Heart failure	Drag queen
Christian Benítez	May 1, 1986	July 29, 2013	Respiratory failure	Footballer
Stuart Baggs	July 23, 1988	July 30, 2015	Asthma attack	Businessman
Tomas Lowe	May 1988	February 13, 2016	Car accident	bassist of Viola Beach	27 years, 9 months
Thomas Fekete	July 1, 1988	May 31, 2016	Cancer	Guitarist of Surfer Blood
Anton Yelchin	March 11, 1989	June 19, 2016	Car accident	Actor, Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series
Shot	December 1, 1989	September 21, 2017	Diabetes	Russian rapper
Kim Jong-hyun	April 8, 1990	December 18, 2017	Suicide	Vocalist and lyricist of Shinee
Fredo Santana	July 4, 1990	January 19, 2018	Idiopathic epilepsy	American rapper
Tyler Skaggs	July 13, 1991	July 1, 2019	Asphyxia due to drug use	American professional baseball starting pitcher
Benjamin Keough	October 21, 1992	July 12, 2020	Suicide	Elvis Presley's grandson, son of Lisa Marie Presley and brother of Riley Keough
Murda Killa	March 9, 1993	July 13, 2020	Asthma attack provoked by the use of alcohol and antidepressants	Russian rapper
Yoo Ju-eun	May 3, 1995	August 29, 2022	Suicide	Korean actress
Walkie	May 24, 1995	September 30, 2022	Suicide	Russian battle rapper
Yung Trappa	August 14, 1995	February 2, 2023	Overdose	Russian rapper
Julián Figueroa	May 27, 1995	April 2, 2023	Myocardial infarction and Ventricular fibrillation	Singer, actor, and composer
MohBad	January 3, 1996	September 12, 2023	Undetermined	Nigerian rapper
Chance Perdomo	October 19, 1996	March 30, 2024	Motorcycle crash	Actor
Cole Brings Plenty	1996	April 5, 2024	TBD	Actor	TBC

See also

• 23 enigma
• Apophenia
• Curse of the ninth
• List of deaths in rock and roll
• List of murdered hip hop musicians
• Saturn return
• White lighter myth

General sources

• pp. 304, 306.
• Skeptoid #907: The Science of the 27 Club at Skeptoid

• Sounes (2013).
• Sounes (2013), p. 304.