27 Club

27 Club
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
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."
R. Gary Patterson, chronicler of rock music urban myth, agreed with the interpretations of Cross and some contemporary journalists that Cobain's mother was referring to Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison. Others linked her quote to then-recent heroin-related deaths of fellow young Seattle rock musicians, such as Stefanie Sargent of 7 Year Bitch and Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone. On the other hand, Eric Segalstad, author of The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll, claimed that she was referring to the death of Cobain's two uncles and his great-uncle, all of whom had committed suicide. 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.
The band Letlive featured a song named "27 Club" on its 2013 album The Blackest Beautiful.
Magenta's 2013 studio album The Twenty Seven Club directly references the club. Each track is a tribute to a member of the club.
Daughtry's song "Long Live Rock & Roll" from their 2013 album Baptized references the club with the lyrics "they're forever 27 – Jimmy, Janis, Brian Jones".
Rapper Watsky references the club on his 2014 song "All You Can Do" with the lyric, "I tried to join the 27 Club; they kicked me out." The song then goes on to reference some famous members of the club, namely Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, and Brian Jones.
Mac Miller's 2015 song "Brand Name" contains the lyric "To everyone who sell me drugs: Don't mix it with that bullshit; I'm hoping not to join the 27 Club". Miller died aged 26, after consuming counterfeit oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl.
The song "27 Club" by Ivy Levan, released as a promotional single for her 2015 album No Good, refers to 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 infamous club. He explicitly references fallen members Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain.
Frank Ocean's 2016 song "Nights" features the lyric "No white lighters 'til I fuck my 28th up", referencing the white lighter myth associated with many members of the 27 club.
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.
In 2017, the MonaLisa Twins released "Club 27", a song on their album "Orange", about the 27 Club.
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. Juice Wrld himself died at the age of 21 from an accidental overdose.
The Pretty Reckless released a song titled "Rock and Roll Heaven" on their 2021 studio album Death by Rock and Roll. The song is about the club and mentions explicitly in the lyrics Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. Frontwoman Taylor Momsen wrote the song after falling into a depressive state from the deaths of her producer Kato Khandwala and Chris Cornell, the latter of whom her band had opened for the night before his death.
The Blind Channel song "Dark Side", the Finnish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, includes the lyrics "Like the 27 Club, headshot, we don't wanna grow up".
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.
Comics
A central plot device in the manga Shiori Experience, first published in 2013 by Yuko Osada, is a demonic ritual by which a person can make contact with the spirit of a musician from the 27 Club. In exchange, they must become a legend of similar caliber by their 28th birthday to avoid death. The series features characters haunted by members of the club, including Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Janis Joplin.
Cartoonist Luke McGarry created The 27 Club comic series for MAD Magazine, debuting in 2018. The comics featured Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Robert Johnson, Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain as paranormal pop stars descending from Rock & Roll Heaven to save the planet with the aid of mortal medium Keith Richards.
Identified members
Because the 27 Club is entirely notional, 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.
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
Bibliography
References
General sources
p. 304. p. 306.
1994 introductions
Cultural aspects of death
Death-related lists
Lists of musicians
Numerology