Have you ever heard of the 27 Club? It is an informal list of popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse or violent means such as homicide, suicide, or transportation-related crashes. The phenomenon has been a subject of popular culture, celebrity journalism, and entertainment industry lore since the late 1960s, when several prominent rock stars died at that age. Some of the most famous members of the 27 Club include:
- Robert Johnson, a blues legend who died in 1938 from suspected poisoning.
- Brian Jones, a founding member of the Rolling Stones, drowned in his swimming pool in 1969.
- Jimi Hendrix, the guitar virtuoso who choked on his own vomit after taking barbiturates in 1970.
- Janis Joplin was a soulful singer who died of a heroin overdose in 1970.
- Jim Morrison, the charismatic frontman of the Doors, died of heart failure in his bathtub in 1971.
- Kurt Cobain, grunge icon and Nirvana leader, shot himself in 1994.
- Amy Winehouse, a soulful singer who died of alcohol poisoning in 2011.
But what is the story behind the 27 Club? Is there a curse or a conspiracy behind it? How common is it for celebrities to die at 27? And what is the cultural…
