27 Club

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Members of the 27 Club (left to right): Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones.

The "27 Club" is a popular culture reference to a group of several rock, and blues musicians, who experienced a successful career that was cut short by a drug-related death at age 27. The musicians are:

Brian Jones (February 28, 1942 – July 3, 1969) (The Rolling Stones) — Drowned in his swimming pool.
Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) — Asphyxiated on vomit while sleeping after presumably unintentional overdose of sleeping pills
Janis Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) (Big Brother & The Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band, Fill Tilt Boogie) — Heroin overdose
Jim Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) (The Doors) — heart failure
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) Lead singer and guitarist for Nirvana — suicide
Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) — homicide by poisoning.

Five were rock stars in the prime of their careers and have since been immortalized as legends in the Blues Hall of Fame, and rock 'n' roll. Some have noted an eerie coincidence in the timing of the deaths of Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison, as well as Morrison and Jones dying on the same date, two years apart. Robert Johnson is considered the founding father of the infamous "27 Club".

1 Less-prominent members
2 Near misses
3 Non-musicians
4 References
5 See also

[edit] Less-prominent members

Although a majority of media attention is focused on Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison and later Cobain, a number of less-famous musicians also died at 27. Among them:

Dave Alexander (June 3, 1947 - February 10, 1975) — bass player for The Stooges. Pneumonia following inflammation of the pancreas.

J Dilla (Feburary 7, 1974 - February 10, 2006) — American Hip-Hop Producer and MC. Cardiac arrest, exacerbated by TTP and Lupus.

Chris Bell - (January 12, 1951 - December 27, 1978) — Guitarist and principal songwriter on Big Star's first album #1 Record. Car accident.

D. Boon - (April 1, 1958 - December 22, 1985) — Lead singer and guitarist for 80's punk band Minutemen. Car accident.

Louis Chauvin - (March 13, 1881 - March 26, 1908) — American ragtime composer. Venereal disease.

Peter Ham (April 27, 1947 - April 23, 1975) — Member of Badfinger. Suicide.

Les Harvey (1944? - March 5, 1972) — Member of Stone the Crows. Electrocuted.

Kami (Ukyou KAMIMURA), (February 1, 1972 - June 21, 1999) — Member of Malice Mizer. Sub-arachnoid hemorrhage.

Helmut Köllen (1950? - March 5, 1977) — Bass player and vocalist for Triumvirat. Carbon dioxide poisoning.

Sean McCabe (November 13, 1972 - August 28, 2000) — Member of Ink & Dagger. Possible drug overdose. [1]

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (September 8, 1945 - March 3, 1973) — Founding member of the Grateful Dead. Gastrointestinal hemorrage.

Bryan Ottoson (March 18, 1978 - April 19, 2005) — Lead guitarist of the band American Head Charge. Accidental prescription-drug overdose.

Kristen Pfaff (May 26, 1967 – June 16, 1994) — Bass guitarist for the band Janitor Joe and later the grunge band Hole. Apparent heroin overdose.

Raymond "Freaky Tah" Rogers (1971? - March 28, 1999) — Member of Lost Boyz. Homicide.

Gary Thain (May 15, 1948 - December 8, 1975) — Member of Uriah Heep. Drug overdose.

Jeremy Ward (May 1, 1976 - May 25, 2003) — The Mars Volta and De Facto. Heroin overdose.

Alan Wilson (July 4, 1943 - September 3, 1970) — Guitar, harmonica and vocals for Canned Heat. Drug overdose.

Wallace Yohn (1947? - December 8, 1974) — Member of Chase. Plane crash.

Mia Zapata (August 25, 1965 – July 7, 1993) — Lead singer of the Gits. Murdered.

[edit] Near misses

Gram Parsons (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) — Influential member of The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers. Also known as the "Father of Country-Rock." Died of an alcohol and drug overdose less than two months before his 27th birthday.

Hillel Slovak (April 13, 1962 - June 25, 1988) — Guitarist of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Died of a heroin overdose at the age of 26 years and 2 months

John Glascock - (May 2, 1951, - November 17, 1979) — Bassist for the rock band Jethro Tull, died at age 28 of a heart defect.

Nick Drake (June 19, 1948 – November 25, 1974) — Singer-songwriter. Died at 26 from a (possibly intentional) medical drug overdose.

Tim Buckley (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) — Died at 28 from an accidental drug overdose.

Jimmy McCulloch (June 4, 1953 - September 27, 1979) — Member of Thunderclap Newman, Stone the Crows and Wings. Died at 26 from a heroin overdose.

Steve Gaines (September 14, 1949 – October 20, 1977) – Guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. Died in a plane crash at age 28.

Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) — Lead singer of the 1990's alternative band Blind Melon. Died of an accidental cocaine overdose less than a month after his 28th birthday.

Bradley Nowell (February 22, 1968 - May 25, 1996) — Lead Guitarist and Vocals of Sublime died of a heroin overdose at 28, just a few weeks before the release of their major album, Sublime.

Jason Thirsk (December 25, 1967 - July 28, 1996) — Member of Pennywise. Died at 28 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Otis Redding (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) — soul singer. Died in a plane crash, at the age of 26.

Darren Robinson (June 10, 1967 – December 10, 1995) — Member of the rap group The Fat Boys. Died of a heart attack at the age of 28.

Baby Huey (singer) (January 1, 1944 – October 28, 1970) — Soul artist signed by Curtis Mayfield. Died of a heart attack at the age of 26.

Jiles Perry Richardson (October 24, 1930 – February 3, 1959) – Better known as the Big Bopper, he died in the same Iowa plane crash that was responsible for the deaths of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens. He was 28.