27 Club

The 27 Club includes popular musicians, artists, actors, and other celebrities who died at age 27, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse or violent means such as homicide, suicide, or transportation-related accidents. 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.

The deaths of several 27-year-old popular musicians between 1969 and 1971 led to the belief that deaths are more common at this age. Music biographer Charles R. Cross wrote:

“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.”

Name	Date of birth	Date of death	Official cause of death	Fame	Age
Alexandre Levy	November 10, 1864	January 17, 1892	Unknown	Composer, pianist and conductor	27 years, 68 days
Louis Chauvin	March 13, 1881	March 26, 1908	Neurosyphilitic sclerosis	Ragtime musician	27 years, 13 days
Rupert Brooke	August 3, 1887	April 23, 1915	Sepsis	Poet	27 years, 263 days
Robert Johnson	May 8, 1911	August 16, 1938	Unknown	Blues singer and musician	27 years, 100 days
Nat Jaffe	January 1, 1918	August 5, 1945	Complications from high blood pressure	Swing jazz pianist	27 years, 216 days
Jesse Belvin	December 15, 1932	February 6, 1960	Traffic collision (car)	R&B singer, pianist and songwriter	27 years, 53 days
Rudy Lewis	August 23, 1936	May 20, 1964	Drug overdose	Vocalist of the Drifters	27 years, 271 days
Joe Henderson	April 24, 1937	October 24, 1964	Heart attack	R&B and gospel singer	27 years, 183 days
Malcolm Hale	May 17, 1941	October 30, 1968	Poisoning (carbon monoxide)	Original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang	27 years, 166 days
Dickie Pride	October 21, 1941	March 26, 1969	Drug overdose (sleeping pills)	Rock and roll singer	27 years, 156 days
Brian Jones	February 28, 1942	July 3, 1969	Drowned in a swimming pool; coroner’s report states “death by misadventure”[51][52]	Rolling Stones founder, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist	27 years, 125 days
Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson	July 4, 1943	September 3, 1970	Drug overdose (barbiturate)	Leader, singer and primary composer of Canned Heat	27 years, 61 days
Jimi Hendrix	November 27, 1942	September 18, 1970	Asphyxiation	Pioneering electric guitarist, singer and songwriter of the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys	27 years, 295 days
Janis Joplin	January 19, 1943	October 4, 1970	Drug overdose (probably heroin)[55]	Lead vocalist and songwriter of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Kozmic Blues Band and Full Tilt Boogie Band	27 years, 258 days
Arlester “Dyke” Christian	June 13, 1943	March 13, 1971	Murdered	Frontman, vocalist and bassist of Dyke and the Blazers	27 years, 273 days
Jim Morrison	December 8, 1943	July 3, 1971	Heart failure[57]	Singer, lyricist, and leader of the Doors	27 years, 207 days
Leslie Harvey	September 14, 1944	May 3, 1972	Electrocution[58]	Guitarist in several Scottish bands, most notably Stone the Crows.	27 years, 232 days
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan	September 8, 1945	March 8, 1973	Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism	Founding member, keyboardist and singer of the Grateful Dead	27 years, 181 days
Roger Lee Durham	February 14, 1946	July 27, 1973	Fell off a horse and died from the injuries	Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone	27 years, 163 days
Pamela Courson	December 22, 1946	April 25, 1974	Heroin overdose	Long-term companion of Jim Morrison and heir to his estate	27 years, 124 days
Wallace “Wally” Yohn	January 12, 1947	August 12, 1974	Plane crash	Organ player of Chase	27 years, 212 days
Dave Alexander	June 3, 1947	February 10, 1975	Pulmonary edema	Bassist of the Stooges	27 years, 252 days
Pete Ham	April 27, 1947	April 24, 1975	Suicide by hanging	Keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger	27 years, 362 days
Gary Thain	May 15, 1948	December 8, 1975	Drug overdose (heroin)	Former bassist of Uriah Heep and the Keef Hartley Band	27 years, 205 days
Cecilia	October 11, 1948	August 2, 1976	Traffic collision (car)	Singer	27 years, 296 days
Helmut Köllen	March 2, 1950	May 3, 1977	Poisoning (carbon monoxide)	Bassist of 1970s prog rock band Triumvirat	27 years, 62 days
Chris Bell	January 12, 1951	December 27, 1978	Traffic collision (car)	Singer-songwriter and guitarist of power pop band Big Star and solo	27 years, 349 days
Zenon De Fleur	September 9, 1951	March 17, 1979	Traffic collision (car) and subsequent medical complications	Guitarist of the Count Bishops	27 years, 189 days
D. Boon	April 1, 1958	December 22, 1985	Traffic collision (van)	Guitarist, lead singer of punk band Minutemen	27 years, 266 days
Alexander Bashlachev	May 27, 1960	February 17, 1988	Fall from a height, probable suicide	Poet, rock musician and songwriter	27 years, 266 days
Amar Singh Chamkila	July 21, 1960	March 8, 1988	Murdered	Singer, songwriter, musician, and composer	27 years, 231 days
Jean-Michel Basquiat	December 22, 1960	August 12, 1988	Drug overdose (Speedball)	Painter and graffiti artist; formed the band Gray	27 years, 234 days
Pete de Freitas	August 2, 1961	June 14, 1989	Traffic collision (motorcycle)	Drummer of Echo & the Bunnymen	27 years, 316 days
Finbarr Donnelly	April 25, 1962	June 18, 1989	Drowning accident	Singer of Five Go Down to the Sea?	27 years, 50 days
Chris Austin	February 24, 1964	March 16, 1991	Plane crash	Country singer and guitarist/fiddle player for Reba McEntire	27 years, 20 days
Dimitar Voev	May 21, 1965	September 5, 1992	Cancer	Poet, founder of the Bulgarian new wave band New Generation	27 years, 107 days
Mia Zapata	August 25, 1965	July 7, 1993	Murdered	Lead singer of the Gits	27 years, 316 days
Kurt Cobain	February 20, 1967	April 5, 1994 c.	Suicide by gunshot[68]	Founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Nirvana	27 years, 44 days c.
Kristen Pfaff	May 26, 1967	June 16, 1994	Drug overdose (heroin)	Bass guitarist of Hole and Janitor Joe	27 years, 21 days
Richey Edwards	December 22, 1967	February 1, 1995	Disappeared near a common suicide site; later presumed dead	Lyricist and guitarist of Manic Street Preachers	27 years, 41 days
Stretch	April 8, 1968	November 30, 1995	Murdered	Rapper	27 years, 236 days
Fat Pat	December 4, 1970	February 3, 1998	Murdered	American rapper and member of Screwed Up Click	27 years, 61 days
Freaky Tah	May 14, 1971	March 28, 1999	Murdered	American rapper and member of the hip hop group Lost Boyz	27 years, 318 days
Kami	February 1, 1972	June 21, 1999	Subarachnoid hemorrhage	Drummer of Malice Mizer	27 years, 140 days
Rodrigo Bueno	May 24, 1973	June 24, 2000	Traffic collision (car)	Cuarteto singer	27 years, 31 days
Sean Patrick McCabe	November 13, 1972	August 28, 2000	Asphyxiation	Lead singer of Ink & Dagger	27 years, 289 days
Maria Serrano Serrano	November 26, 1973	November 24, 2001	Plane crash (Crossair Flight 3597)	Singer of Passion Fruit	27 years, 363 days
Rico Yan	March 14, 1975	March 29, 2002	Acute Hemorrhagic Pancreatitis	Filipino actor	27 years, 15 days
Jonathan Brandis	April 13, 1976	November 12, 2003	Suicide by hanging	American actor	27 years, 213 days
Jeremy Ward	May 5, 1976	May 25, 2003	Drug overdose (heroin)	The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator	27 years, 20 days
Bryan Ottoson	March 18, 1978	April 19, 2005	Drug overdose (prescription medication)	Guitarist of American Head Charge	27 years, 32 days
Valentín Elizalde	February 1, 1979	November 25, 2006	Murdered	Mexican banda singer	27 years, 297 days
Damien “Damo” Morris	May 22, 1980	December 19, 2007	Traffic collision (bus)	Member of Australian deathcore band the Red Shore	27 years, 211 days
Orish Grinstead	June 2, 1980	April 20, 2008	Kidney failure	Founding member of the R&B group 702	27 years, 323 days
Jade Goody	June 5, 1981	March 22, 2009	Cervical cancer	Reality-television personality	27 years, 290 days
Dash Snow	July 27, 1981	July 13, 2009	Drug overdose	Artist	27 years, 351 days
Amy Winehouse	September 14, 1983	July 23, 2011	Alcohol poisoning[76]	Singer-songwriter	27 years, 312 days
Richard Turner	July 30, 1984	August 11, 2011	Cardiac arrest	Trumpet player, collaborator with Friendly Fires	27 years, 12 days
Anton Yelchin	March 11, 1989	June 19, 2016	Accidental blunt traumatic asphyxia[79]	Actor, Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series	27 years, 100 days
Thomas Fekete	July 1, 1988	May 31, 2016	Cancer	Guitarist of Surfer Blood	27 years, 335 days
Kim Jong-hyun	April 8, 1990	December 18, 2017	Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning[81]	Vocalist and lyricist of Shinee	27 years, 254 days
Fredo Santana	July 4, 1990	January 19, 2018	Cardiovascular disease and idiopathic epilepsy[83]	American rapper	27 years, 199 days
Tyler Skaggs	July 13, 1991	July 1, 2019	Asphyxiation	American professional baseball starting pitcher	27 years, 353 days
Benjamin Keough	October 21, 1992	July 12, 2020	Suicide by gunshot	Elvis Presley‘s grandson and son of Lisa Marie Presley and brother of Riley Keough	27 years, 265 days
Yoo Joo Eun	May 3, 1995	August 29, 2022	Suicide	Korean actress	27 years, 118 days