The 27 Club is a group of talented musicians who unfortunately lost their lives at the young age of twenty-seven. As some of the most talented young minds of their generation, in their short yet prominent lives, these musicians had an individual effect on society as a whole. Sadly, as Aristotle stated, rarely can one find true genius without a tincture of madness. Many led self-destructive lifestyles consumed by drugs and alcohol as a way of concealing and deadening their inner darkness and alienation. Although their addictions were retrospectively romanticized, in the end their impulsive actions led to nothing more than their premature deaths.
Jimi Hendrix
Date of Death: 18 September 1970 (Kensington, London, England)
Official Cause of Death: Asphyxiation
Profession: Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist for the Jimi Hendrix Experience
Age at Death: 27 years, 295 days
About-
Jimi Hendrix was born on November twenty-seventh, 1942 in Seattle, Washington. During the guitarist’s childhood, Hendrix’s family was poverty-stricken and at times he and his younger brother were abandoned with little food. The loss of his mother at the young age of fifteen set the tone for his rather unfortunate life. His father, instead of taking him to his mother’s funeral, gave Hendrix and his brother shots of whiskey stating that was how men were supposed to deal with loss. The family moved frequently and on occasion would take Hendrix to Vancouver to live with his grandmother. He would later confide to a girlfriend that it was during one of these visits that he was sexually abused by a man in a uniform.
The real Jimi Hendrix was not the archetypal rock star consumed by a culture of sex, drugs and rock and roll, of which the media portrayed him to be. Hendrix was rather a sensitive, shy, intelligent, yet vulnerable person, who wished only for a friend who viewed him as a human being, not a rock idol meant to be exploited for monetary gain. As his career heightened, Hendrix’s personal life deteriorated. He knew that he had no true friends, and it began to waver upon him emotionally. At one point, Hendrix stated in a fit of rage how everyone thought they “owned” him. Jimi’s last words to trusted friend and reporter, Sharon Lawrence, were,“I just need some peace of mind” and in death Jimi had finally found the inner peace he had longed for, just not in the way he had hoped for.
The real Jimi Hendrix was not the archetypal rock star consumed by a culture of sex, drugs and rock and roll, of which the media portrayed him to be. Hendrix was rather a sensitive, shy, intelligent, yet vulnerable person, who wished only for a friend who viewed him as a human being, not a rock idol meant to be exploited for monetary gain. As his career heightened, Hendrix’s personal life deteriorated. He knew that he had no true friends, and it began to waver upon him emotionally. At one point, Hendrix stated in a fit of rage how everyone thought they “owned” him. Jimi’s last words to trusted friend and reporter, Sharon Lawrence, were,“I just need some peace of mind” and in death Jimi had finally found the inner peace he had longed for, just not in the way he had hoped for.
“The story of Jesus is easy to explain. The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye. The story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again.” - Jimi Hendrix (poem written shortly before death)
Janis Joplin
Date of Death: 4 October 1970 (Hollywood, CA)
Official Cause of Death: Heroin Overdose
Profession: Lead Vocalist/Songwriter for Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band.
Age at Death: 27 years, 258 days
About-
Janis Joplin was born on January nineteenth, 1943, in Port Arthur, Texas. During her time in high school, Joplin was quoted as saying, “I was a misfit. I read, I painted.” Classmates would taunt her and call her names such as “pig,” “freak” and “creep.” While studying at the University of Texas Austin, the Daily Texan published a profile of her in their July twenty-seventh, 1962, issue. The article was titled “She Dares to Be Different” and read, “She goes barefooted when she feels like it, wears Levi's to class because they're more comfortable, and carries her auto harp with her everywhere she goes so that in case she gets the urge to break into song it will be handy. Her name is Janis Joplin.”
Unfortunately, as her career heightened, her self-destructiveness reared its head. On October fourth, 1970, Joplin was given a lethal dose of heroin. John Cooke, Joplin’s manager, later discovered her dead on the floor beside her bed. Before Joplin’s death, it was said that she had become saddened over that neither of her friends visited her at the hotel she was living in. The official cause of death was said to be a heroin overdose, possibly in combination with the effects of alcohol.
“I always wanted to be an artist, whatever that was, like other chicks that want to be flight attendants. I read. I painted. I thought - Janis Joplin
Jim Morrison
Date of Death: 3 July 1971 (Paris, France)
Official Cause of Death: Heart Failure
Profession: Poet, lead singer and lyricist of the Doors
Age at Death: 27 years, 207 days
About-
Jim Morrison was born on December eighth, 1943, in Melbourne, Florida. He often reported in his adulthood that as a child in 1947 he witnessed a car accident in the dessert, in which a family of Native Americans was reportedly brutally injured and possibly murdered. This profoundly affected his musical and poetic career. He referred to the incident on the song “Dawn’s Highway” from the album An American Prayer and again in the songs “Peace Frog” and “Desert Highway.” As an adolescent, Morrison’s family moved quite frequently. It was during this time that Morrison’s fascination with the writings of obscure philosophers and poets developed. He was greatly influenced by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, of whose thoughts on morality and the Apollonian and Dionysian duality would surface in his poetry and lyrical compositions. Additionally, he was influenced by Arthur Rimbaud, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Charles Baudelaire, Molière, William Blake and Franz Kafka, along with many other French existentialists. Morrison’s senior-year English teacher remarked, “Jim read as much and probably more than any student in class, but everything he read was so offbeat I had another teacher, who was going to the Library of Congress, check to see if the books Jim was reporting on existed. I suspected he was making them up, as they were English books on sixteenth or seventeenth century demonology. I’d never heard of them, but they existed, and I’m convinced from the paper he wrote that he read them, and the Library of Congress would've been the only source.”
In January of 1964, Morrison transferred from Florida State University to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He enrolled in UCLA’s film school and comparative literature department. It was during these years, while living in Venice Beach, that Morrison met his fellow band mates. Morrison, however, become very lonely and felt isolated as his career with the Doors blossomed. He felt that the world viewed him as a commodity meant to be exploited and used. His true love was poetry, but the world did not view him as a poet, but rather a celebrity noted for his physical appearance. It is believed that Morrison died of heart failure as a result of a lethal inhalation of heroin and cocaine. However, the details surrounding his death are widely unknown and this claim has frequently been disputed by those closest to Morrison.
“The most important kind of freedom is to be who you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask.” - Jim Morrison
Kurt Cobain
Date of Death: 5 April 1994 (Seattle, Washington)
Official Cause of Death: Suicide by Gunshot
Profession: Founding member, lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana
Age at Death: 27 years, 44 days
About-
Kurt Cobain was born on February twentieth, 1967 in Aberdeen, Washington. Cobain was described by friends and family as a happy, excitable, yet sensitive and emotional young child. His artistic talent was evident from early on. His bedroom allegedly had the appearance of an art studio and the walls were covered with drawings of his favorite cartoon characters. According to this aunt, Mari, he started singing at the age of two. At age four, he started playing the piano and composing songs. He listened to artists such as the Ramones, The Beatles and the Monkees. Cobain’s parents divorced when he was seven, which according to Cobain profoundly had an impact on him and his adult life. His personality altered dramatically and he became withdrawn and depressed. He would later be diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager. On his parent’s divorce he remarked, “I remember feeling ashamed, for some reason. I was ashamed of my parents. I couldn’t face some of my friends at school anymore, because I desperately wanted to have the classic, you know, typical family. Mother, father. I wanted that security, so I resented both of my parents for quite a few years because of that.”
Like the other members of the 27 Club, as Cobain’s career with the band Nirvana heightened, his depression and bipolar tendencies resurfaced. His tumultuous relationship and subsequent marriage to Courtney Love, lead singer of the band Hole, led to further drug addiction. They had one daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, born on August eighteenth, 1992.
Like the other members of the 27 Club, as Cobain’s career with the band Nirvana heightened, his depression and bipolar tendencies resurfaced. His tumultuous relationship and subsequent marriage to Courtney Love, lead singer of the band Hole, led to further drug addiction. They had one daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, born on August eighteenth, 1992.
Cobain’s suicide note ended with the statement, “I’m too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember it’s better to burn out than fade away... Peace, love, empathy, Kurt Cobin.” Some of Kurt Cobain’s closest friends have disputed the claim that he committed suicide. It is thus unknown whether the official cause of death is factual.
Amy Winehouse
Date of Death: 23 July 2011 (London, England)
Official Cause of Death: Alcohol Poisoning
Profession: Singer-songwriter
Age at Death: 27 years, 312 days
About-
Amy Winehouse was born on September fourteenth, 1983 in Southgate, London, England. As a child, Amy’s father Mitch frequently sang Frank Sinatra songs to her. Her parents separated when she was nine years old. During her musical career, she was known for her distinct voice characterized by jazz and soul genre’s as well as her personal troubles. Her addiction’s to alcohol, heroin and cocaine were widely reported of in the media, overshadowing her career as a musician and thus further enabling her behavior. Her tumultuous relationship and subsequent marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil was what gave way to her addiction. Fielder-Civil allegedly was the person who introduced Amy to hard drugs. Amy’s death was reported to be a result of an alcohol relapse; however, there is much controversy surrounding her death, even more so than the other members of the 27 Club. Produce Salaam Remi noted, “She was inspired by people who passed away before she was born, and she will inspire people who weren't born yet.”
“Since I was 16, I’ve felt a black cloud hangs over me. Since then, I have taken pills for depression.”
“I’m of the school of thought where, if you can’t sort something out for yourself, no one can help you. Rehab is great for some people but not others.” - Amy Winehouse
Each member of the 27 Club created brilliant works of art and changed the lives of many, but how difficult was it to live their lives? The genius exhibited by each member of the 27 Club drove them to their individual, and often secluded, realms of the world. They could not bear the conventional and accepted way of life, nor could they bear the great deceptions of the world. However, their intelligence and acute sense of self-awareness not only prevented delight with the world, but in essence prevented delighted with themselves. Whilst misery may not be necessary for the creative mind, sometimes emotional distress, insanity and self-destruction are the price of creative genius. Sometimes even the brightest get lost in the darkness.
“Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know” - Ernest Hemingway
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