The 27 Club is an awful club to be a member of even though its members are all famous. It’s a club that should never have come into existence, but sadly and tragically keeps growing. What exactly is it, what makes it so awful? Well, the 27 Club is a term that started off as a theory in the early 1970s to explain the cultural phenomenon of musicians who die at the age of 27. Back then when music fans made the connection that Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, and Jimi Hendrix all died at the age of 27, it was assumed that there must be some kind of eerie, other-worldly connection and the term gained popularity.
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Since then the term has been expanded to include celebrities and famous people outside of the music industry who have also died at the age of 27. When Kurt Cobain died in 1994, a lot of attention was given to the 27 Club and then when Amy Winehouse also died at the age of 27 in 2011, the 27 Club gained even more notoriety. The 27 Club theory, or the idea that musicians or celebrities die at a greater frequency at age 27 than any other age, has been debunked. Still, the term persists perhaps because the members of this posthumous club all seem to have died tragically and far, far too soon.
Robert Johnson died on August 16, 1938.
During his life, Robert Johnson wasn’t necessarily recognized as the master of blues that he has come to be known as today. Only one of his songs ever reached a level of moderate success while he was alive. Since his death, his work has influenced countless musicians. “You want to know how good the blues can get?" Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones once said. "Well, this is it." Robert Johnson died of strychnine poisoning and pneumonia.
Rudy Lewis died on May 20, 1964.
Rudy Lewis, pictured on the far right, was a singer for the R&B group The Drifters. His voice shines on timeless hit songs like “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Up on the Roof,” and “On Broadway.” He was found dead in a hotel room on May 20, 1964, from a suspected overdose.
Brian Jones died on July 3, 1969.
Brian Jones is responsible for the creation of the Rolling Stones. He was the original founder and leader of the band. Sadly, he drowned in the swimming pool of his home in England.
Jimi Hendrix died on September 18, 1970.
It is hard to believe that the legendary guitarist’s “active career as a featured artist” was only four years long. Especially, considering how he pretty much redefined how the electric guitar could be used and has continued to influence musicians ever after. He died after taking a bunch of sleeping pills. No one knows for sure how many he took or if he knew the strength of the pills he was taking. They were Vesparax, a barbiturate so strong that just one half of a pill could put a person to sleep for eight hours.
Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970.
Janis Joplin was a powerhouse singer who rose to fame in the 1960s with her blues-inspired vocals. She first started getting praised for her voice and stage presence when she was a member of the band Big Brother, but it was as a solo artist that she truly shined. She had a history of drug abuse and died of an accidental heroin overdose before her last album Pearl was released.
Jim Morrison died on July 3, 1971.
Before becoming the lead singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison was a film student at UCLA. That’s where he ended up meeting the other members of The Doors. Their hits include "Light My Fire," "Hello, I Love You," "Touch Me," and "Riders on the Storm." He had issues with alcohol and drug abuse, which probably contributed to his wild onstage behavior. He left the band in 1971 to go write poetry in Paris, where he died from what it is believed to have been heart failure.
Jean-Michel Basquiat died on August 12, 1988.
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born in Brooklyn and since his mother was of Puerto Rican descent and his father was an immigrant from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he was fluent in English, Spanish, and French. He started his off as a graffiti artist before becoming a well-known and celebrated neo-expressionist. "I never went to art school," he once said. "I failed the art courses that I did take in school. I just looked at a lot of things. And that’s how I learnt about art, by looking at it.” He died of a heroin overdose.
Kurt Cobain died on April 5, 1994.
Kurt Cobain was a founder and the lead singer of Nirvana, the band that skyrocketed to fame in 1991 with its first major-label album Nevermind. It was the first alternative rock album to be truly embraced by the mainstream. Kurt was considered the voice of his generation by many. He struggled with depression and drug abuse. He died by suicide.
If you are feeling suicidal, thinking about hurting yourself, or are concerned that someone you know may be in danger of hurting himself or herself, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255) or the Suicide Hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433), both of which are staffed by certified crisis response professionals, or call 911.
Amy Winehouse died on July 23, 2011.
Amy Winehouse was a British retro-soul singer-songwriter. Her 2006 album Back to Black won multiple Grammy Awards and made her internationally famous. Unfortunately, her personal life was chaotic and she struggled with substance abuse. She died from alcohol poisoning.
Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan died on March 8, 1973.
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan was a founding member of the Grateful Dead. He hooked up with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir in 1964 and formed a jug band that ended up morphing into the Grateful Dead. He started drinking when he was only 12 years old and by the time he was in his 20s, he had developed cirrhosis of the liver. He was found dead in his apartment in Corte Madera, California, by his landlady. By the time she found him, he had been dead for about two days.
Jonathan Brandis died on November 12, 2003.
Jonathan Brandis was only 2 years old when he began his professional career in show business as a model for a shoe company. He went on to in movies like The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter and was cast in the TV horror miniseries It based on the book by Stephen King. He died by from injuries he suffered after hanging himself.
Pat Tillman died on April 22, 2004.
Pat Tillman was the star safety for the Arizona Cardinals, who chose to leave the NFL after 9/11 so he could join the US Army. What makes his death particularly tragic is that although he knew he was risking his life to defend the United States, he died in Afghanistan due to friendly fire.
Anton Yelchin died on June 19, 2016.
Anton Yelchin was born in what is now St. Petersburg, Russia, to famous figure skating parents. He and his parents came to the US when he was only 6 months old. In 2002, when he was 12 years old, Anton starred in the science fiction miniseries Taken. He went on to play Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek movies for which he is best known. He died after being crushed by his own malfunctioning car in his driveway.
Fredo Santana died on January 19, 2018.
Derek Coleman, known professionally as Fredo Santana, was a rapper from Chicago. He was a pioneer of the drill rap movement. His debut album Trappin Ain’t Dead came out in 2013 and featured cameos from his cousin Chief Keef as well as rapper Kendrick Lamar. According to an autopsy report, he died of cardiovascular disease.
Adult film star Dakota Skye died on June 9, 2021.
Lauren Scott, known professionally in the adult film industry as Dakota Skye, was found dead in a Los Angeles motorhome by her husband. Her cause of death was unconfirmed. "Her real life story and how she came to be in that industry, has truly been a tragedy,” her aunt Linda Arden told The U.S. Sun. "She died almost exactly two years after her mother, my baby sister's, death which was caused by addiction and alcoholism."
