All big numbers: These are the 6 members of the legendary Club 27

It is a club that is not only elite but also legendary. And paradoxically, because no one wants to be a member: we're talking about the so-calledClub 27. The members: All of themMusicians who died at the age of 27– usually through “own fault”. For some time it was assumed that young age was particularly dangerous for musicians - which has long been scientifically refuted.

Club 27 is probably the only club where you can only become a member post-mortem. And these are hissix key members, the so-called “Big Six”.

Brian Jones, founding member and influential guitarist of the, was - if you want to put it so disrespectfully - the first member of Club 27, although it did not yet exist when he died on July 3, 1969. Jones was for his during his lifetimeexcessive lifestyleknown. His drug use repeatedly left him unable to perform, so the rest of the band had to learn to get along without him - and decided to part ways with him. The Stones officially did this on June 8, 1969. Jones accepted the expulsion including a one-off severance payment of 100,000 pounds and 20,000 pounds a year for as long as the band existed. Brian Jones died 25 days later. He had friends over at his house and they were swimming. Jones and contractor Frank Thorogood were last seen alone in the pool. At some point it wasBrian Jones found dead in his swimming pool. The cause of death was determined to be drowning. But rumors persist to this day that Thorogood caused Jones' death.

In the case ofJimi Hendrixis the designationprobably not yet sufficient. The guitar god is probably more accurate - but not an immortal one. Because in the eyes and ears of many peoplebest guitarist of all timedied September 18, 1970. Drugs have always played a formative role in Hendrix's life, and their devastating effects were ultimately foreseeable. At first it was “just” grass and alcohol, later LSD and sleeping pills were added, the abuse of which became increasingly difficult for him to control as his consumption increased. The result: After theTaking an overdose of sleeping pills combined with lots of red wineJimi Hendrix was completely drugged, vomited in this state andpossibly choked on his vomit. Even if the cause of death has not been fully clarified to this day, it wasn't a particularly dignified death, but one that didn't really surprise anyone.

The first female club member wasJanis Joplin, who joined the club on October 4th, just 16 days after Jimi Hendrix's death. The cause of death was:Heroin overdose. The gifted blues singer always had onemajor drug and addiction problem. Janis Joplin's road manager at the time found her on that daydead on the floor of her roomat the Landmark Hotel in California, where she recorded her albumPearllived at Sunset Sound Studios. On the last song of theJanis Joplin's singing is missing, which she was no longer able to record due to her death.

Jim Morrison, the charismatic The Doors singer, was the last club member from the hippie era. The four deaths mentioned so far all took place within a period of exactly two years (July 3, 1969 to July 3, 1971). Since Brian Jones was British and not American, he is sometimes left out, but everyone mentioned so far has shaped and lived the two oft-quoted rock 'n' roll principles like no one else:and “Live fast, die young”. Jim Morrison was also always throughintense and rampant alcohol and drug abusenoticed, and that was his downfall too. Morrison had been complaining for a while before his deathDifficulty breathing. The asthma medication prescribed by doctors didn't help, nor did their advice to move to warmer climates. So Morrison underwent self-medication, in particularHeroin snorted, which not only had a pain-relieving but also cough-relieving effect. Then on the morning of July 3rd, Jim Morrisonfound dead in his Paris apartment, died of onecardiac arrest.

The next club member was a long time coming, namely 23 years. It wasKurt Cobain. Along with Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison, the Nirvana frontman is often referred to ascore of the clubbut this is probably mainly due to the fact that all four were Americans. Kurt Cobain struggled with various problems. The rather introverted Cobain suffered greatly from thisConsequences of sudden famewith his band Nirvana, which really bothered him. But he also suffered from onebipolar disorder and stomach pain. Because the cause could not be found, the musician eventually discovered the pain-relieving effects of drugs, in particularHeroin, which at some point became excessive. All attempts at therapy were unsuccessful. Back in March 1994, Kurt Cobain did onefirst suicide attempt with sedativesand was hospitalized in a coma. He went to a drug rehab center but escaped on April 1, 1994. Four days later, Kurt Cobain died at his home in Seattle, where he was with aOverdose of heroin in the bloodwas found - and with a hole in his head that he killed himself withShotgunhad inflicted. The Nirvana musician left a farewell letter with a quote My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)endete: "It’s better to burn out than to fade away."

The last of the club's "Big Six" is a soul singerAmy Winehouse, which also comes withmassive drug and psychological problemswas struggling - and unfortunately her husband Blake Fielder-Civil wasn't much help. He had Winehouse in the first placeintroduced to hard drugsand prevented her from going to rehab several times. He succeededonly after the separation from Fielder-Civil at the end of 2008. However:Winehouse's drinking problemsworsened during this time. Amy Winehouse also suffered from drug addictionBulimia. On July 23, 2011, Amy Winehouse died of an alcohol overdose: she was found dead4.16 per mille in the blood.

In some Club 27 lists, the name Brian Jones appears beforeRobert Johnsonon. The musician died on August 16, 1938 under circumstances that remain unclear to this day. Johnson is one of the most important and influential guitarists in music history. According to legend, the "King of the Delta Blues" sold his soul to the devil, for which he received unimagined guitar skills in return.

There are Robert Johnson and those mentioned abovea whole host of other young musicians, who died at the age of 27, but whose popularity was not great enough to be "officially" counted as part of the 27 club - includingRon McKernan, founding member of the band Grateful Dead, Stooges bassistDave Alexanderor rappersFreaky Tahby the group The Lost Boyz. Sometimes celebrities from other areas like the artist are also includedJean-Michel Basquiator the actorAnton Yelchin.