Amy Winehouse's death has sparked a resurgence of interest in the '27 Club', the original members of which were Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison, all of whom died within two years of each other between 1969 and 1971. To this list is usually added Kurt Cobain (1994).
Jim Morrison (1943-1971)
Singer, poet, songwriter, writer & film director. Died in the bathtub of his Paris apartment. The cause of death was officially listed as heart failure, but heroin use was most likely involved, possibly inhaled because he thought it was cocaine. His girlfriend, Pamela Courson, gave numerous contradictory versions of his death. She died of a heroin overdose three years later, at the age of twenty-seven.
Janis Joplin (1943-1970)
Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)
Guitarist, singer, songwriter & record producer. Died in a London hotel room under circumstances which have never been fully explained. According to the doctor who attended to him, Hendrix asphyxiated (literally drowned) in his own vomit. His girlfriend, Monika Dannemann, claimed that he had taken her prescribed sleeping pills, but her comments were contradictory. In 1996, in the face of legal action, she committed suicide.
Brian Jones (1942-1969)
Guitarist with The Rolling Stones. Drowned in the swimming pool of his home in Hartfield, Sussex. After a second arrest for marijuana possession, substance abuse & mood swings, Jones was informed by the other band members that a replacement guitarist would be found, & that a U.S. tour would go ahead without him. The circumstances of his death are unknown, but the coroner’s report stated 'Death by Misadventure', spurring theories of suicide & murder. Shortly afterwards, Jimi Hendrix dedicated a song to Jones, & Jim Morrison wrote a commemorative poem entitled 'Ode To L.A. While Thinking Of Brian Jones, Deceased'.
Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)
Singer, guitarist & songwriter. Committed suicide by gunshot in his home in Seattle. In the last years of his life, he struggled with drug addiction & media pressures.On April 8th, Cobain’s body was discovered at his Lake Washington home by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system, & who reported seeing no visible signs of trauma, initially believing that Cobain was asleep, before seeing the shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found at the scene, 'I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music for too many years now'. A high concentration of heroin & traces of Valium were also found in his body. Cobain’s body had been lying there for days - the coroner’s report estimated Cobain to have died on April 5th.
