Who's In The '27 Club'? List Of The Famous Who Died Young

By | June 30, 2020

test article image
A mural to Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Amy Winehouse at the corner of Rivington and Forsyth Streets i New York City. Source: edenpictures via Wikimedia Commons.

Cool people like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison may be members, but the 27 Club is one of the few institutions of fame that no one in their right mind wants to join. It may not have a brick and mortar location like the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, but it stands tall in the minds of music lovers across the world. Those three late-'60s figures, plus Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, plus modern inductees like Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse, all died at age 27, giving birth to the idea that talented but troubled musicians don't, won't or can't live to see age 28. The members of the 27 Club range from psychedelic poets to troubled R&B singers, and it could even be expanded to include painters and punk visionaries, but is it a real thing? And who are the members of this grim collection of superstars?

Why do so many stars die young?

test article image
source: pinterest

You’ve heard of “live fast, die young,” but is there really a large amount of famous people who die at the age of 27? In 2011, British researchers found that yes, more rock stars die before they’re 30 than the average person. Their sex, drugs, and rock n roll lifestyle aids this quick demise, but so does the non-stop travel and work associated with fame.

While more rockers have died at the age of 27 than any other, it’s not the climax of death. The researchers found that the late 20s and early 30s are the most volatile time for performers, and that European and English rockers are more likely to die young than their American counterparts.

It makes sense that most of the members of the 27 Club were performing in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when drug use and chaotic behavior were not only rampant, but applauded by audiences. As for why the world at large is so obsessed with this “club,” it helps that four of the most famous people on the planet (Jimi, Janis, Jim Morrison, and Brian Jones) died at 27 between 1969 and 1971.