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The Best of 27 Club
The 27 Club is a term that refers to a number of popular musicians who died at age 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, or violent means such as homicide or suicide. The number of musicians who have died at this age and the circumstances of many of those deaths have given rise to the idea that premature deaths at this age are unusually common.
The "club" has been repeatedly cited in music magazines, journals and the daily press. Several exhibitions have been devoted to the idea, as well as novels, films and stage plays. There have been many different theories and speculations about the causes of such early deaths and their possible connections. Cobain and Hendrix biographer Charles R. Cross writes "The number of musicians who died at 27 is truly remarkable by any standard. [Although] humans die regularly at all ages, there is a statistical spike for musicians who die at 27.
Brian Jones
February 28, 1942 - 3 July 1969 aged 27 years 125 days. Cause of death : Drowning
Jimi Hendrix
November 27, 1942 - September 18, 1970, aged 27 years 295 days. Cause of Death : Overdose
Amy Winehouse
14 September 1983 - 23 July 2011 July 23, 2011 aged 27 years 312 days. Cause of death : Poisoning of drinking Alcohol.
Brian Jones
February 28, 1942 - 3 July 1969 aged 27 years 125 days. Cause of death : Drowning
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However, a study 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. Although the sampled musicians faced an increased risk of death in their 20s and 30s, this was not limited to the age of 27. Informal research using an automated query across Wikipedia data (via DBpedia) in 2012 effectively reached the same conclusion : "There may well be a 27 Club of accursed musicians, but the 74 Club is more popular.
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