Monday, August 8, 2011

The 27 Club

         Well this blog is going to be a little bit weird and really it has nothing to do with me exactly, but I wanted to write on the subject, since my 27th birthday is coming up in less than a week, I thought I would write about it.
         On Wikipedia, there is a page devoted to the 27 Club. Great musicians that lost their life at the young age of 27. This club is also known as the the Forever 27 Club, or the Curse of 27. I am not superstitious by any means, nor do I think there is this horrible curse that revolves around great musicians that are 27 years old, I just find this topic interesting. The list of musicians who have died when they were 27 has some of the greatest rock & roll musicians of all time, here we go,


1. Robert Johnson - American blues singer and song writer. Knows as the master of the Mississippi Delta Blues. Johnson was not really known in his time, in the late 1930's. He rose to fame in the early 60's when some of his recording were more widely spread. It is said that he was poisoned by strychnine, by receiving an opened bottle of whiskey.

2.  Brian Jones - English musician, one of the founding members of The Rolling Stones.  He was originally the leader, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards soon overshadowed Jones. He died in his swimming pool a month after he left The Rolling Stones in 1969, he did have a major substance abuse issue as well.

3.  Jimi Hendrix - He was widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist of all time, and one of the most influential musicians of his time. Sept. 18, 1970 Jimi Hendrix was found in his girlfriends flat in London. The cause of death was  asphyxiation. It was told that he had taken a large amount of sleeping pills before going to bed.

4. Janis Joplin - Known as "The Queen of Rock & Roll" she was apart of Big Brother and the Holding Company, then went solo in 1969 until her death in 1970. Janis Joplin's cause of death was a heroin overdose.

5. Jim Morrison - Lead singer of The Doors. Died of a heroin overdose as well in 1971.

6. Kurt Cobain - Formed the band Nirvana in 1985 in Seattle, WA. Cobain had substance abuse issues, and he was found in his home April 8th, 1994 of a self inflicted gun shot to the head.

7. Amy Winehouse - English singer/songwriter who was known for her amazing contralto voice. She was found dead in her London home. Cause of death is "undetermined", but with her drug abuse issues it is assumed that the cause of death is an overdose of some kind.

     I have always known that most of these musicians died of overdoses, which is truly sad. I understand being famous does come with its challenges, and all of that, but it is so sad to think that someone has to abuse drugs to be accepted into certain circles. If you could imagine the type of music that Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix could of created if their lives were not cut so short.
      As I have always said, death to me is not scary. Do I want to die, well absolutely not...I am just not scared of what happens afterward. Does everyone have the same understanding of after life as I do? Nope, I know that, but as I come to my 27th birthday, I look the the musicians that lost their life so early, and try to understand why they made the choices that they did. I know people die everyday, and I know some people do not like to hear only about the famous people who have passed away, just like recently with the horrible events that have happened in the middle east with our Navy Seals. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those brave soldiers.
Death is horrible, and I know that some people deal with death in many different ways, but for me, I know that the people I love and care for will be with me in paradise one day.
      I didn't mean for this to be all about death, we actually I did I guess, but I knew there was a list out there of famous musicians who have passed at the age of 27. It is unfortunate, especially with the recent death of Amy Winehouse. But I hope this list doesn't grow longer. It was said Kurt Cobain once said he wanted to be apart of the 27 Club. So sad....