Hollywood’s morbid 27 Club: The 6 musicians’ deaths that started a pop

• The 27 Club is a pop-cultural phenomenon that includes influential musicians, artists, and actors who have all died at the age of 27.
• The foundation of the 27 Club started with the deaths of four music icons between 1969 and 1971, including Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison, all of whom died at 27.
• The term ’27 Club’ gained widespread recognition after Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994, with other notable members including Amy Winehouse, who died at 27 in 2011.

The 27 Club has become a pop-cultural phenomenon following the deaths of influential musicians, artists, and actors who died at the age of 27.

While Cindy Crawford‘s son Presley Gerber is the latest name to join the morbid list following his death on September 20, 2026, the foundation for the ‘club’ started when four music icons died within two years, between 1969 and 1971.

Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison all died at 27, an eerie coincidence that caught public attention, although it wasn’t formally dubbed a ‘club’ until 23 years later.

The term became widely known after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain‘s death in April 1994, with media coverage heavily fixated on him being 27 at the time of his death, cementing the phrase “27 Club.”

When Amy Winehouse died at 27 in 2011, the term resurfaced with immense force, pushing the narrative for a modern generation.

But it’s not just musicians who are members of the ‘club;’ influential artists and actors have since become part of the pop-culture folklore.

While dozens of famous faces are associated with the 27 Club, HELLO! is looking back at the deaths of six central figures below.

Robert Johnson

Arguably, the foundation of the 27 Club was Delta blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Robert Johnson, who influenced legends like Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Bob Dylan, despite only recording 29 songs during his short-lived career.

However, his talents were cut short in August 1938, as just a few months after his 27th birthday, he died of strychnine poisoning and pneumonia. While his death certificate listed no official cause, he was reportedly poisoned with strychnine-laced whiskey provided by a jealous husband at a juke joint where he was performing. 

Brian Jones

One of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones was 27 when he was found dead at the bottom of the swimming pool at his home, Cotchford Farm, in East Sussex, on July 3, 1969. His cause of death was listed as “death by misadventure,” noting his liver and heart were heavily enlarged due to drug and alcohol consumption. 

While Brian’s death was ruled an accidental drowning, various conspiracy theories over the years have suggested foul play, including his former bandmate, Keith Richards, who once said: “And still the mystery of his death hasn’t been solved. I don’t know what happened, but there was some nasty business going on.”

Jimi Hendrix

Widely considered the greatest electric guitarist in music history, Jimi Hendrix died at the Samarkand Hotel in London, England, at age 27, on September 18, 1970. 

His death was ruled an accidental drug intoxication after he died from asphyxiation after inhaling his own vomit while unconscious from an overdose of Vesparax, a potent barbiturate sleeping pill he took at his girlfriend Monika Dannemann’s apartment.

Janis Joplin

Just 16 days later, Janis Joplin became a member of the 27 Club when she died on October 4, 1970, after an accidental heroin overdose, complicated by alcohol intake. Her road manager found her dead on the floor of her room at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Los Angeles. 

It was later revealed that the heroin she purchased was unusually potent, causing several other overdoses in the area that same week.

Jim Morrison

The Doors frontman Jim Morrison was found dead in a bathtub in his rented apartment in Paris, France, by his longtime girlfriend Pamela Courson on July 3, 1971. As no foul play was suspected, French law did not require an autopsy, so his death was declared to be heart failure, likely aggravated by heavy alcohol consumption.

Jim’s death closed out the tragic 1969–1971 cluster that permanently established the mythology of the 27 Club, until Kurt Cobain’s death 23 years later.

Kurt Cobain

Nirvana frontman and leading figure of the early ’90s grunge movement, Kurt Cobain died by suicide on April 5, 1994. A scheduled electrician found him three days later inside the greenhouse above the garage of his Seattle home. His toxicology reports confirmed a high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium in his system at the time of death. 

His death officially coined and popularized the term ‘The 27 Club,’ especially when his mother famously told a local newspaper at the time: “Now he’s gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to join that stupid club.”

Amy Winehouse

The 27 Club attracted even more attention when Amy Winehouse died on July 23, 2011. She was found dead in her bed at her home in Camden, London, after she resumed heavy drinking following a period of abstinence. 

Her cause of death was ruled accidental alcohol poisoning, with toxicology reports revealing her blood alcohol level was over five times the legal driving limit at the time of her passing.