The 27 Club is a list of popular musicians, artists, or actors who died at age twenty-seven. It originated with an unsupported claim of a "statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age, but this has been repeatedly disproved by research.
It remains a cultural meme, documenting the deaths of celebrities, some noted for their high-risk lifestyles. Names are often put forward for inclusion, but because the club is entirely notional, there is no official membership.
Video 27 Club
Cultural phenomenon
The 27 Club is a list of popular musicians, artists or actors that have died at age twenty seven, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, or violent means such as homicide, suicide, or transportation-related accidents. The deaths of several twenty-seven-year-old popular musicians between 1969 and 1971 led to the belief that deaths are more common at this age. Statistical studies have failed to find any unusual pattern of musician deaths at this age, comparing it to equally small increases at ages 25 and 32, with a 2011 BMJ study noting instead that young adult musicians have a higher death rate than the rest of the young adult population, concluding "Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27."
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 wrote, four years before the BMJ study was published, "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."
Maps 27 Club
History
Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison all died at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971. At the time, the coincidence gave rise to some comment, but it was not until the death of Kurt Cobain at age 27, about two and a half decades later, that the idea of a "27 Club" began to catch on in public perception.
According to Hendrix and Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross, the growing importance of the media--Internet, television and magazines--and the response to an interview of Cobain's mother were jointly responsible for such theories. An excerpt from a statement that Cobain's mother, Wendy Fradenburg Cobain O'Connor, made in the Aberdeen, Washington newspaper The Daily World--"Now he's gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to join that stupid club."--referred to Hendrix, Joplin, and Morrison dying at the same age, according to Cross. Other authors share his view. On the other hand, Eric Segalstad, writer of The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll, assumed that Cobain's mother referred to the death of his two uncles and his great-uncle, all of whom had also committed suicide. According to Cross, the events have led a "set of conspiracy theorists [to suggest] the absurd notion that Kurt Cobain intentionally timed his death so he could join the 27 Club".
In 2011, seventeen years after Cobain's death, Amy Winehouse died at the age of 27, and there was a large amount of media attention devoted to the club once again. Three years earlier, she had expressed a fear of dying at that age.
An individual does not necessarily have to be a musician to qualify as a member of the 27 Club. Rolling Stone included television actor Jonathan Brandis, who committed suicide in 2003, in a list of "members" of the 27 Club. Anton Yelchin, who had played in a punk rock band but was primarily known as a film actor, was also described as a member of the club upon his death in 2016. Likewise, Jean-Michel Basquiat has been included in 27 Club lists, despite the relative briefness of his music career and his prominence as a graffiti artist and painter.
Scientific studies
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. A 2015 article in The Independent also provided statistical evidence that popular musicians are not more likely to die at the age of 27.
References in music
The song "28" by John Craigie, off his album Montana Tale, is about the club. The three verses refer to the deaths of Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain respectively.
The theme is referenced in the song "27 Forever" by Eric Burdon, on his 2013 album 'Til Your River Runs Dry.
The name of the song "27 Club" by letlive. off their album The Blackest Beautiful is derived from the club.
Magenta's eighth studio album, The Twenty Seven Club, directly references the club. Each track is a tribute to a member of the club.
The song title "27" by Fall Out Boy from their album Folie à Deux is a reference to the club. The song explores the hedonistic lifestyles common in rock and roll. Pete Wentz, the primary lyricist of Fall Out Boy, wrote the song because he felt that he was living a similarly dangerous lifestyle.
On his song "Brand Name" from the album GO:OD AM, Mac Miller says "I'm hoping not to join the twenty-seven club."
The song "Colors" by Halsey references the club with the lyric, "I hope you make it to the day you're 28 years old".
The song "27 Club" by Ivy Levan released as a promotional single for her debut album No Good released in 2015 is a reference to the club.
"Uno" by Rex Orange County refers to the club in the last line of the song; "And every now and then I think about the fact that I'd become a legend if I died at 27."
Identified members
See also
- Apophenia
- Curse of the ninth
- List of deaths in rock and roll
- Saturn return
- 23 enigma
- White lighter myth
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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