27 Club

The 27 Club is an informal list consisting mostly of popular musicians who died at age 27. Although the claim of a "statistical spike" for the death of musicians at that age has been refuted by scientific research, it remains a common cultural conception that the phenomenon exists, with many celebrities who die at 27 noted for their high-risk lifestyles.

The original basis for the notion was a cluster of prominent musicians' deaths at the age of 27 between 1969 and 1971, including Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison; but only after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 was the notion of a "club" established, and the death of Amy Winehouse in 2011 enhanced its prominence. Different write-ups include a number of other musicians and sometimes other celebrities.

Cultural perception

Beginning with the deaths of several 27-year-old popular musicians between 1969 and 1971 (namely Jones, Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison), dying at the age of 27 came to be, and remains, a perennial subject of popular culture, celebrity journalism, and entertainment industry lore. This perceived phenomenon, which came to be known as the "27 Club", attributes special significance to 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 cultural interpretation of events gave rise to an urban myth that celebrity deaths are more common at 27, a claim that has been refuted by statistical research as discussed in the scientific studies section below. However, a subsequent statistical analysis demonstrated that the myth itself has shaped cultural memory by boosting the visibility and cultural prominence of those who die at 27.