When i was reading 'Just Kids' by Patti Smith, I found it really unnerving that Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin all died, within 2 years of eachother and all at the tender age of 27.
Little did i know it was a trend.
The term '27s club' was coined by author Eric Segalstad and illustrator Josh Hunter in reference to a staggering list of musicians, mostly from a Rock 'n' Roll background, who passed the torch that year.
Red wine saw the end of Jimi, heroin was Janis's demise and a wonky heart apparently got Morrison.
Who else gained membership?
Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones drowned in '69, Kurt Cobain pulled the trigger in '94 after claiming on numerous occasions he longed to join the club, Amy Winehouse drank herself to an early grave in 2011 and Rolling Stones '5th Rated Top Guitarists of All Time' Robert Johnson was poisoned in '38.
There we go. Bit of music history for you.
Those are the 'Official members' but the list goes on....
...Ron McKernan from Grateful Dead, Dave Alexander from The Stooges, Kristen Pfaff from Hole, Mars Voltas Jeremy Michael Ward.....the list goes on.
Pope John XII, Joseph Merrick (The Elephant Man) and Jonathan Brandis would all have made the cut but a lack of musical genius dictated otherwise.
