Notional club occupied by those who died at age 27
The27 Club is an informal list consisting mostly ofpopular musicians[1][2][3][4] 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 common cultural conception that the phenomenon exists, with many celebrities who die at 27 noted for their high-risk lifestyles.
The original basis for the notion was a cluster of prominent musicians' deaths at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971, most notablyBrian Jones,Jimi Hendrix,Janis Joplin andJim Morrison; but only after the death ofKurt Cobain in 1994 was the notion of a "club" established, and the death ofAmy Winehouse in 2011 enhanced its prominence. Different write-ups include a number of other musicians and sometimes other celebrities.[5][6][7]
Cultural perception
Hendrix, Morrison, and Joplin have been described as the "holy trinity" of young rock star deaths.[8]
Beginning with the deaths of several 27-year-old popular musicians between 1969 and 1971 (namely Jones, Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison), dying at the age of 27 came to be, and remains, a perennial subject of popular culture, celebrity journalism, andentertainment industry lore.[1][2] This perceived 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 ofdrug and alcohol abuse or violent means such ashomicide, suicide, or transportation-related accidents.[9] The cultural interpretation of events gave rise to anurban myth that celebrity deaths are more common at 27, a claim that has been refuted by statistical research as discussed in thescientific studies section below.[10][3] However, a subsequent statistical analysis demonstrated that the myth itself has shaped cultural memory by boosting the visibility and cultural prominence of those who die at 27.[11]
History
Jim Morrison, lead singer of the rock bandthe 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,[12][13] but, according toCharles R. Cross, a biographer of Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, "it wasn't until Kurt Cobaintook his own life in 1994 that the idea of the 27 Club arrived in the popularzeitgeist."[14] 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 localAberdeen, Washington, newspaperThe Daily World, and subsequently carried worldwide by theAssociated Press: "Now he's gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to join that stupid club."[15] 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 musicurban myth.[16][17][14][18]
That's really selfish to live to 90 years old unless you have something to offer like maybeWilliam Burroughs. I definitely don't want to be that old. I feel more bonded with theJim Morrison type of living on the edge, rock & roll poet, in a conservative way. –Kurt Cobain[19]
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 ofThe 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.[20] Other contemporary journalists linked her quote to the then-recent heroin-related deaths of fellow young Seattle rock musiciansStefanie Sargent of7 Year Bitch andAndrew Wood ofMother Love Bone, both aged 24.[21] 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."[14]
In 2011,Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27, prompting a renewed swell of media attention devoted to the 27 Club.[22] 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.'"[23]
White lighter myth
A derivativeurban legend emerged in the popular culture ofsmoking andcannabis as the so-calledwhite lighter myth orwhite lighter curse. It purports that Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Cobain, and others linked to the 27 Club died while in possession of a whitedisposable cigarette lighter, leading such items to become associated with bad fortune.[24][25][26][27]Snopes discredited the theory in 2017, noting thatBic did not begin producing disposable lighters until 1973 — several years after the deaths of Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison — and disposable lighters from other companies were not widely available before then.[25]
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 anurban myth, refuted by scientific research.[1][2][3]
A study by university academics published in theBritish 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 the conclusion that could be drawn is as such: "fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27".[10]
A 2014 article atThe Conversation suggested thatstatistical evidence shows popular musicians are most likely to die at the age of 56 (2.2% compared to 1.3% at 27).[3]
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.[4][28][29][30]
Music
The title of the song "27" byFall Out Boy from their 2008 albumFolie à Deux is a reference to the club. The lyrics explore thehedonistic 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.[31]
John Craigie's song "28", which appeared on his 2009 albumMontana Tale, and 2018 live albumOpening 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".[32][33] Craigie wrote the song when he himself was age 27.[34]
Magenta's studio albumThe Twenty Seven Club (2013) directly references the club. Each track is a tribute to a member of the club.[36]
Halsey's song "Colors", from her debut albumBadlands (2015), includes the line: "I hope you make it to the day you're 28 years old."[37]
Mac Miller's song "Brand Name", from his 2015 albumGO:OD AM, features the line "To everyone who sell me drugs, don't mix it with that bullshit, I'm hopin' not to join the 27 Club." Miller died in 2018 at the age of 26 from a drug overdose, after consuming counterfeitoxycodone pills containingfentanyl.[38]
Frank Ocean referenced the club and the white lighter myth on the song "Nights" from his 2016 albumBlonde, where he says: "No white lighters 'til I fuck my twenty-eighth up."[39]
JPEGMafia's albumBlack Ben Carson (2016) includes a song titled "The 27 Club", which the song refers to the club. He references members Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain.[40]
Adore Delano released a song called "27 Club" on her studio albumWhatever (2017), with the repeated lyric: "All of the legends die at twenty-seven." Delano was aged 27 at the time of release.[41]
Juice Wrld referenced the club on his song "Legends" (2018), where he says: "What's the 27 Club? We ain't making it past 21."[42]
Nessa Barrett's song "La Di Die", released in collaboration withJxdn in 2021, contains a reference to the club: "I'll be dead at 27, only nine more years to go."[43]
Video games
In the video gameHitman (2016), one of the in-game missions,Club 27, involves killing an indie musician who is celebrating his 27th birthday.[44]
^Owen, Michael (February 2012).The 27 Club: Why Age 27 Is Important. Kahurangi Press.ISBN978-0-473-20684-0.
^The Curse of 27: They Have Three Things in Common. Talent, Fame... and a Tragic Death at the Age of 27. the 27 Club. Forever 27. Pillar Box Red Publishing Limited. August 2011.ISBN978-1-907823-22-0.
^Chick, Stevie (October 23, 2008)."Chemical brothers".The Guardian.Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. RetrievedOctober 15, 2011.
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