
The 27 Club: Musicians Dead At 27
Although people all over the world die at all ages, one fact that cannot be ignored is the amount of celebrity deaths at the age of 27. Which is why, it got the name ‘The 27 Club’. Scores of famous singers, songwriters, and musicians’ lives ended at the young age of 27, when they could have been in our midst for some many decades more and would have continue to give us the wonderful music that they were famous for.
Most of the famous musicians who died at 27 led a rock and roll kinda lifestyle. A scary thing to note is that, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, as a kid, even joked about how he would love to be a part of this elite club 27. And barring a couple of deaths, most other celebrity deaths have been shrouded in mystery. Nevertheless, let’s have a look at the list of singers and musicians that died at 27.
Famous People Who Died at 27 from the Music Industry
Celebrity Name | Died | Cause of Death | Famous For | Life Span |
Louis Chauvin | March 26, 1908 | Neurosphilitic sclerosis | Ragtime musician | 27 years, 13 days |
Jeremy Ward | May 25, 2003 | Heroin overdose | Sound for The Mars and De Facto | 27 years, 20 days |
Rodrigo Bueno | June 24, 2000 | Car accident | Argentinean singer | 27 years, 31 days |
Bryan Ottoson | April 19, 2005 | Prescription drug overdose | American Head Charge guitarist | 27 years, 32 days |
Kurt Cobain | April 5, 1994 | Suicide | Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for Nirvana | 27 years, 44 days |
Robert Johnson | August 16, 1938 | Strychnine poisoning | Blues singer and musician | 27 years, 100 days |
Jesse Belvin | February 6, 1960 | Car accident | R&B singer, pianist and songwriter | 27 years, 53 days |
Jesse Belvin | February 6, 1960 | Car accident | R&B singer, pianist and songwriter | 27 years, 53 days |
Robert Johnson | August 16, 1938 | Strychnine poisoning | Blues singer and musician | 27 years, 100 days |
Brian Jones | July 3, 1969 | Drowned | Rolling Stones founder, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist | 27 years, 125 days |
Jimi Hendrix | September 18, 1970 | Asphyxiation | Electric guitarist, singer and songwriter for The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys | 27 years, 295 days |
Janis Joplin | October 4, 1970 | Heroin overdose | Lead vocalist and songwriter for Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band | 27 years, 258 days |
Jim Morrison | July 3, 1971 | Heart failure | Lead singer, lyricist and video director for The Doors | 27 years, 207 days |
Amy Winehouse | July 23, 2011 | Unexplained | Singer & songwriter | 27 years, 312 days |
Alexandre Levy | January 17, 1892 | Unknown | Composer, pianist and conductor | 27 years, 98 days |
Nat Jaffe | August 5, 1945 | High blood pressure | Swing jazz pianist | 27 years, 216 days |
Rudy Lewis | May 20, 1964 | Drug overdose | Vocalist of The Drifters | 27 years, 271 |
Malcolm Hale | October 31, 1968 | Carbon monoxide poisoning | Lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang | 27 years, 166 days |
Dickie Pride | March 26, 1969 | Overdose of sleeping pills | Rock and roll singer | 27 years, 156 days |
Alexandra | July 31, 1969 | Car accident | Singer | 27 years, 73 days |
Alan Wilson | September 3, 1970 | Barbiturate overdose | Lead singer and primary composer of Canned Heat | 27 years, 61 days |
Arlester Christian | March 13, 1971 | Murdered | Frontman, vocalist and bassist of Dyke & the Blazers | 27 years, 273 days |
Linda Jones | March 14, 1972 | Complications from diabetes | Soul singer | 27 years, 91 days |
Leslie Harvey | May 3, 1972 | Electrocution | Guitarist for Stone the Crows | 27 years, 233 days |
Ron McKernan | March 8, 1973 | Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism | Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead | 27 years, 181 days |
Roger Lee Durham | July 27, 1973 | Horse riding fall | Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone | 27 years, 163 days |
Wallace Yohn | August 12, 1974 | Plane crash | Organ player of Chase | 27 years, 212 days |
Dave Alexander | February 10, 1975 | Pulmonary edema | Bassist for the Stooges | 27 years, 252 days |
Pete Ham | April 24, 1975 | Suicide | Keyboardist and guitarist | 27 years, 362 days |
Gary Thain | December 8, 1975 | Drug overdose | Bassist of Uriah Heep and The Keef Hartley Band | 27 years, 207 days |
Cecilia | August 2, 1976 | Car accident | Spanish singer | 27 years, 296 days |
Helmut Köllen | May 3, 1977 | Carbon monoxide poisoning | Bassist of Triumvirat | 27 years, 62 days |
Chris Bell | December 27, 1978 | Car accident | Singer-songwriter and guitarist of Big Star | 27 years, 349 days |
Jacob Miller | March 23, 1980 | Car accident | Lead singer for Inner Circle | 27 years, 324 days |
D. Boon | December 22, 1985 | Car accident | Guitarist, lead singer of Minutemen | 27 years, 266 days |
Alexander Bashlachev | February 17, 1988 | Suicide | Russian poet, rock musician and songwriter | 27 years, 266 days |
Jean-Michel Basquiat | August 12, 1988 | Speedball overdose | Painter and graffiti artist; formed the band Gray | 27 years, 234 days |
Pete de Freitas | June 14, 1989 | Motorcycle accident | Drummer for Echo & the Bunnymen | 27 years, 346 days |
Mia Zapata | July 7, 1993 | Murdered | Lead singer of The Gits | 27 years, 316 days |
Kristen Pfaff | June 16, 1994 | Heroin overdose | Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor | 27 years, 51 days |
Stretch | November 30, 1995 | Murdered | Rapper | 27 years, 101 days |
Fat Pat | February 3, 1998 | Murdered | Rapper and member of Screwed Up Click | 27 years, 61 days |
Freaky Tah | March 28, 1999 | Murdered | Rapper and member of Lost Boyz | 27 years, 318 days |
Sean Patrick McCabe | August 28, 2000 | Asphyxiation | Lead singer of Ink & Dagger | 27 years, 289 days |
Maria Serrano | November 24, 2001 | Plane crash | Background singer for Passion Fruit | 27 years, 363 days |
Valentín Elizalde | November 26, 2006 | Murdered | Mexican banda singer | 27 years, 297 days |
Damien Morris | December 19, 2007 | Tour bus crash | Vocalist and member of The Red Shore | 27 years, 211 days |
Orish Grinstead | April 20, 2008 | Kidney failure | Founding member of the R&B group 702 | 27 years, 323 days |
Lily Tembo | September 14, 2009 | Severe gastritis | Zambian musician | 27 years, 298 days |
John Garrighan | January 30, 2011 | Heroin overdose | Guitarist and vocalist for The Berlin Project | 27 years, 304 days |
Isn’t it so sadly amazing at the number of famous singers and musicians who have died at the young and promising age of 27!!! There surely must be some jinx with this number and the music industry. Dead at 27 and the 27 Club seems to have gotten so popular with the numbers that have piled on over the years. Now, all we can hope for is that there is no more additions to this list, and all our dear musicians go on to live a long and happy life, and keep churning out that mesmerizing music for us.