The myth of the ˝27 club˝ started when in a short time span, from 1969 till 1971, several iconic artists died unexpectedly, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison. Since then, many other celebrities have joined this club, usually as a result of drug and alcohol abuse, or suicide, creating a notion that the membership for this club implies a high-risk lifestyle. Here are some of the most famous names which have found themselves as members of this notorious club.
1. Jimi Hendrix, died in 1970
Called the best guitar player in the history of music, a pioneering electric guitarist, Hendrix put an end to his very short, 4 year career by taking a large quantity of sleeping pills the night before his death. Nevertheless, the circumstances of his death are still unknown and open to interpretation.
2. Janis Joplin, died the same year
Less than a month later, another one of the most iconic female rock musicians of all times, Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose. Her death was ruled as accidental even though there are suspicions that the heroin she was given was much more potent, since many of the dealer´s clients overdosed that same week.
3. Jim Morrison, died in 1971
The Doors frontman, one of the most influential in the history of rock music, rebellious icon of the popular youth counterculture, Morrison joined the 27 club under mysterious circumstances. Having developed an alcoholic dependency, he was found dead in a bathtub in his Paris apartment, allegedly from a heart failure. Autopsy was never performed, so the true cause of his death will never be known.
4. Kurt Cobain, died in 1994
The most famous alternative musician of all times and one of the most influential rock musicians, the leader and guitarist of Nirvana battled with heroin addiction and suffered from chronic depression. So it´s no surprise that the cause of his death was a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
5. Jonathan Bradis, died in 2003
Even though musicians make up the majority of the ˝27 club˝ members, not all of them come from the music business. One of them is an actor, who starred as a child in ˝One Life to Live˝, becoming a teen idol, especially amongst the female population. He later got the opportunity to lead Stephen King´s supernatural horror miniseries ˝It˝. After allegedly suffering from depression because of his declining career, and beginning to drink heavily, Jonathan hanged himself in the hallway of his apartment building in Los Angeles.
6. Amy Whinehouse, died in 2011
English soul, r´n´b, and jazz singer, known for eclectically mixing musical genres and her fabulous contralto vocals, Amy was known for her problematic behaviour and alcohol and drug abuse. Having been already hospitalized for heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, and alcohol overdose, while also dealing with mental illness, eating disorders, and other health problems, it is no wonder her life was ended by an accidental alcoholic poisoning.
7. Anton Yelchin, died in 2016
Yelchin was an American actor of Russian origin known first for his role in Spielberg´s Taken, at just 12 years old, who became famous playing Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek franchise. Not known for any problematic behaviour or substance abuse, the actor died in what they called a ˝freak accident˝. He was found trapped by his car between a pillar and a security fence, with the official cause of death being blunt traumatic asphyxia.
