Deceased musicians. Stars who died young

Rock 'n' Roll Day: Ten Deaths of Real Rock 'n' Rollers

Real rock 'n' rollers don't die in bed. They definitely do this in the company of girls, alcohol, drugs, or at breakneck speed, sitting in their car.

No matter how bad an example these rockers set, they will still remain forever in our hearts.

No. 10. Yura Khoy

Leader of the Gaza Strip group. As a self-respecting outcast, he died of cirrhosis of the liver (according to the most official version, of a heart attack). Did he know that eleven years later his bandmate would also give his soul into the clutches of the green serpent?

Video fragment of one of the concerts in the Gaza Strip. Song - “In the evening on a bench.”

Attention: profanity

No. 9. Vadim Glukhov

Guitarist of the band Gaza Strip. All Soviet boys picked out his guitar parts by ear, learning simple tunes with equally simple words. Now we will have to be content with what is left in the recording - Vadim will not play anything else: on January 18, 2011, he drank 8 bottles of Corvalol and joined the clan of the late rockers, poisoning himself with the ethyl alcohol contained in the medicine. Here are the lyrics:

No. 8. Victor Tsoi

Leader of the Kino group. Thanks to him, August 15 is considered a black day for all “Soviet youth”: it was on that fateful morning that the artist’s Muscovite encountered the ill-fated Ikarus near Riga. It is still believed that Tsoi fell asleep at the wheel.

No. 7. Igor Talkov

Until now, music historians cannot decide: who fired the fatal shot into the heart of the rock singer - Aziza Malakhov’s bodyguard, or Talkov’s administrator Valery Shlyafman? The only 100% fact is that Igor is no more.

No. 6. Jim Morrison

Leader of The Doors. There are still many options for his death: a heroin overdose in the Parisian Rock-n-Roll Circus club, an ordinary suicide, a staged suicide by the FBI, which is actively fighting members of the hippie movement, and so on. No one knows the truth except Morrison's friend Pamela. But - bad luck - the girl died three years later from an overdose, without telling anyone anything.

No. 5. Jimi Hendrix

The greatest guitarist partly refutes the canons of rocker death: he is one of the few who actually died in bed. In bed with a lady, choking on vomit after taking 9 sleeping pills. In an apartment filled with drugs - it was because of them that Jimmy’s girlfriend was afraid to call an ambulance, leaving the musician to die.

No. 4. Sid Vicious

The bassist of the famous punk band Sex Pistols, once again released from prison, took some heroin. Yes, the thing is that the drug was not 5 percent, as usual, but practically undiluted (80 percent). So, with a smile of peace, another rock and roller left.

No. 3. John Lennon

Vocalist of The Beatles. One of the few musicians who did not think about suicide. In any case, four out of five bullets from Mark Chapman prevented the world from knowing whether the greatest Beatle had such thoughts.

No. 2. Janis Joplin

The famous singer died from an overdose of heroin mixed with alcohol. It’s interesting that just before this, Janice was working on an audio congratulation for John Lennon’s birthday: the cassette with the recording was found near her after his death. I congratulated you, I congratulated you!

No. 1. Kurt Cobain

Leader Nirvana- the undoubted leader of our rating: according to the official version, the guy injected himself with a dose of heroin that was incompatible with life, and then shot himself in the head with a gun. After which the body lay in the house for several days. Some still believe that precious Kurt was killed on the orders of his wife, Courtney Love - the relationship between the spouses was not so great. His best songs in honor of the death of the rocker we already remembered. Let us remember one of them once again:

The first to leave us last year was the great David Bowie, known as the “Chameleon of Rock,” “The Thin White Duke,” and “Ziggy Stardust.” He died on January 10 at the age of 69, having released a new album the day before his death.

Glenn Frye was the next to leave, passing away on January 17th. Having lived for 66 years, he became famous as a guitarist, vocalist and co-writer of all the key hits of the American rock group Eagles, including the immortal composition Hotel California.

Jimmy Bain, bassist for Rainbow and White Horses, known for his work with Gary Moore, John Cale, Phil Lynott and Ronnie James Dio, died on January 23 at the age of 68.

Three days after Bain, another iconic musician died: Colin Vearncombe (Black), author of the global hit Wonderful Life. He died from injuries received in a car accident.

On January 28, Paul Kantner, one of the main figures of American psychedelic rock, a permanent member of the rock band Jefferson Airplane, guitarist and lyricist of this band and its incarnations, including Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna, died. He was 74. On the same day, Jefferson Airplane's original singer, Signe Toly Anderson, passed away.

February did not claim anyone, but the beginning of March was marked by a serious loss. On March 8, at the age of 91, the legendary producer George Martin, as he was also called “The Fifth Beatle,” whose services to modern music are invaluable, died in his sleep. The main one, of course, is working as a sound producer, sound engineer and arranger on The Beatles albums.

Two days later, on March 10, virtuoso organist Keith Emerson, musician of the band Emerson Lake & Palmer, passed away. Having lived a full life and composed many works that have become art-rock classics, Emerson committed suicide due to serious health problems that prevented him from performing fully.

On April 21, the outstanding pop singer and guitarist Prince, known for the global hit Purple Rain, his irrepressible energy, bold experiments and innovative video clips, died. Prince is the perfect 80s pop idol. At the age of 57, he died from an overdose of painkillers.

A month later, at the age of 51, the drummer of the “golden line-up” of the rock band Megadeth, Nick Menza, died. One of the most interesting and technical drummers in heavy music died right during the concert from a heart attack.

On July 16, Alan Vega, leader of the duo Suicide, who played an unusual fusion of new wave, synth-punk, lo-fi and electronic music, passed away. One of the most original artists in music history, considered a guru to numerous electronic and minimalist artists, has died at the age of 78.

On November 7, at the age of 83, Leonard Cohen, the greatest poet, musician, songwriter, author of the compositions Hallelujah, The Future, Suzanna, First We Take Manhattan, Everybody Knows, Dance Me to the End of Love and Waiting for the Miracle, died. Having released the album You Want It Darker this year, which became a kind of testament to the singer, he released another immortal hit for all times – the heartbreaking song I’m Ready, My Lord.

On November 13, Leon Russell, a multi-instrumentalist and composer who collaborated with The Rolling Stone s, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan. This happened on December 13th. He was 74 years old.

December was the most terrible month of the year; it claimed several outstanding musicians at once. First on this sad list is 69-year-old Greg Lake, guitarist for the art-rock band Emerson Lake & Palmer, who began his career in the late 1960s with The Gods (with Ken Hensley) and King Krimson. He died on December 7 from cancer.

On December 24, the guitarist of the legendary British band Status Quo, Rick Parfitt, who had been playing in this band since 1967, died. His image of a frantic rock 'n' roller in his ever-present sky blue jeans was one of the symbols of modern rock music. He was 68 years old.

The next day, the world was shocked by the death of George Michael, a former member of the super-successful pop duo Wham!, a teen idol of the 1980s and 1990s, who later went on to have a brilliant solo career. Along with the pop hits of Wham Ram, Club Tropicana and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, he could write soulful ballads like Careless Whisper and Prying For Time, as well as compositions that were closer to classical music, rather than popular ones like Different Corner, Jesus To a Child and Father Figure. The singer was only 53.

Club 27
Graffiti of Club 27 in Tel Aviv (Israel).

Club 27(English 27 Club) - the combined name of musicians who significantly influenced the formation and development of rock and blues music and who died at the age of 27, sometimes under strange circumstances.

Musicians included in Club 27

The first on the list of seven musicians was Robert Johnson (according to critics, he is considered the first member of Club 27), although the first among the rebels was the Russian poet M. Yu. Lermontov, who was not a musician, but died at the age of 27. The list also included Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. The most important detail about their deaths, which was the impetus for the creation of the Club, is that they died within a period of 10 months.

Brian Jones was later added to the list; Moreover, Morrison and Jones died on the same day, but two years apart.

Name Date of birth Date of death Cause of death Why Robert Johnson is famous May 8, 1911 August 16, 1938 Official version - shot dead jealous husband one of his mistresses. According to another version, he was poisoned with strychnine. Bluesman. One of the most famous bluesmen of the 20th century. Brian Jones February 28, 1942 July 3, 1969 Drowned in a swimming pool; according to unconfirmed reports, he was killed. Founder of The Rolling Stones, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist. Jimi Hendrix November 27, 1942 September 18, 1970 Choked on vomit after an overdose of sleeping pills mixed in the musician’s body with amphetamine. Considered the best guitarist in the history of rock music, songwriter, vocalist. Janis Joplin January 19, 1943 October 4, 1970 The official version remains a drug overdose; there is an opinion that it was a murder. One of the greatest "white" blues singers. Jim Morrison December 8, 1943 July 3, 1971 The official version is heart failure. Although there are opinions that the cause of death could be a drug overdose and murder. Poet, vocalist, songwriter, videographer, lead singer and leader of The Doors, one of the most influential musicians in the history of rock music. Kurt Cobain February 20, 1967 April 5, 1994 Official version - shot himself with a shotgun. Numerous conspiracy theories cite murder as the cause of the musician’s death. Vocalist, guitarist, songwriter. Leader of the group Nirvana. One of the idols of rock music. Amy Winehouse September 14, 1983 July 23, 2011 Alcohol poisoning. British R&B, jazz, soul singer. "Greatest Britons-2007" for musical achievements; six-time Grammy Award winner.

Some other musicians who died at 27

Sometimes other musicians who died at the age of 27 are included in the list of Club 27 members.

Name Date of death Cause of death Celebrity Louis Chauvin March 26, 1908 Neurosyphilis. Ragtime musician. Helmut Köllen (English) May 3, 1977 Carbon monoxide asphyxiation. Bassist of the band Triumvirat. Jesse Belvin (English) February 6, 1960 Died in a car accident. Rhythm and blues musician and songwriter. Alan Wilson (English) September 3, 1970 Barbiturate overdose, possibly suicide. Leader, vocalist and composer of the band “Canned Heat”. Leslie Harvey (English) May 2, 1972 Electric shock at her own concert. Guitarist for Stone the Crows. Ron McKernan March 3, 1973 Gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by alcoholism. Original member and keyboardist of the Grateful Dead. David Alexander February 10, 1975 Pulmonary edema, was hospitalized for acute pancreatitis caused by alcoholism. Bassist of The Stooges. Pete Ham April 24, 1975 Suicide by hanging. Keyboardist, guitarist and founder of the band Badfinger. Gary Thain December 8, 1975 Drug overdose. Bassist of the band Uriah Heep. Chris Bell (English) December 27, 1978 Car accident, drove into a telephone pole. Vocalist, songwriter and guitarist for Big Star. Dennis Boone (English) December 22, 1985 Broke his neck in a car accident while driving without wearing a seat belt. Guitarist and vocalist of the punk band Minutemen. Alexander Bashlachev February 17, 1988 Fell out of a window (according to unconfirmed reports - suicide). Soviet rock musician and poet. Pete de Freitas (English) June 14, 1989 Crashed his motorcycle while returning from filming a video. Drummer of the band “Echo & the Bunnymen”. Igor Chumychkin April 12, 1993 Jumped out of the window. Russian rock musician, guitarist of the group "Alisa". Mia Zapata July 7, 1993 Murder. Vocalist of the band “The Gits”. Kristen Pfaff June 16, 1994 Heroin overdose. Bass player "Hole". Richie Edwards February 1, 1995 Missing on February 1, 1995 after leaving a hotel. The car was found near the bridge over the River Severn - a popular place for suicides. Officially declared dead on November 20, 2008. Lyricist, guitarist for the Manic Street Preachers. Eduard "Redt" Starkov February 23, 1997 Suicide by hanging. Poet, musician of the groups “Chimera” and “The Last Tanks in Paris”. Patrick "Fat Pat" Hawkins February 3, 1998 Shot and killed outside his promoter's apartment. American rapper from Houston, member of the groups DEA (Dead End Alliance) and Screwed Up Click. Jeremy Ward May 25, 2003 Heroin overdose. Sound engineer for the bands “The Mars Volta” and “De Facto”. Alexander “Korzh” Korzhov May 22, 2005 Suicide by hanging. Leader of the Manuscript group. Sergey Zolotukhin July 2, 2007 Suicide by hanging. Drummer of the band “Dead Dolphins” John Kerrigan January 30, 2011 Heroin overdose. Guitarist and vocalist of the band “The Berlin Project” Nicole Bogner January 5, 2012 Illness. The first vocalist of the group “Visions of Atlantis”. Slawomir Arkhangelski (Polish) April 6, 2013 Arrhythmia. Polish musician, bass guitarist of the band “Hate” Soroush Farazmand November 11, 2013 Murder. Guitarist of the American-Iranian band “The Yellow Dogs” Thomas Feket May 30, 2016 Cancer. Guitarist of the American group “Surfer Blood” Kim Jonghyun December 18, 2017 The official version is suicide, carbon monoxide poisoning. South Korean singer-songwriter, composer, producer, main vocalist of the group SHINee

Kurt Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross wrote: “The number of musicians who die at 27 is truly significant by any standard. Although people die at all times and at any age, the number of deaths of musicians aged 27 increases significantly.”

However, in 2011, researchers from the Australian University of Technology tried to question the Club 27 phenomenon based on statistical analysis. Having studied information about the deaths of not only great or significant musicians for rock history, but also everyone who managed to get to the top of the British hit parade in the period from 1956 to 2007 (1046 names, both soloists and members of pop and rock -groups), they found that musicians die at the age of 27 no more often than at any other age. In their sample, 71 people (7%) died. Although in general musicians die earlier than ordinary people (often before the age of 40), the existence of the special “club 27” was called by researchers the result of a biased selection of facts and random coincidences. However, scientists also found some evidence of an increase in the number of deaths in the 20-30 year-old musicians cluster in the 1970s and early 1980s, and the mortality rate for young musicians of this age was 2-3 times higher than the mortality rate for the general UK population.

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Excerpt characterizing the List of Deaths in Rock Music

"Who are they? Why are they? What do they need? And when will all this end? thought Rostov, looking at the changing shadows in front of him. The pain in my arm became more and more excruciating. Sleep was falling irresistibly, red circles were jumping in my eyes, and the impression of these voices and these faces and the feeling of loneliness merged with a feeling of pain. It was they, these soldiers, wounded and unwounded, - it was they who pressed, and weighed down, and turned out the veins, and burned the meat in his broken arm and shoulder. To get rid of them, he closed his eyes.
He forgot himself for one minute, but in this short period of oblivion he saw countless objects in his dreams: he saw his mother and her big white hand, he saw Sonya’s thin shoulders, Natasha’s eyes and laughter, and Denisov with his voice and mustache, and Telyanin , and his whole story with Telyanin and Bogdanich. This whole story was one and the same thing: this soldier with a sharp voice, and this whole story and this soldier so painfully, relentlessly held, pressed and all pulled his hand in one direction. He tried to move away from them, but they did not let go of his shoulder, not even a hair, not even for a second. It wouldn’t hurt, it would be healthy if they didn’t pull on it; but it was impossible to get rid of them.
He opened his eyes and looked up. The black canopy of night hung an arshin above the light of the coals. In this light, particles of falling snow flew. Tushin did not return, the doctor did not come. He was alone, only some soldier was now sitting naked on the other side of the fire and warming his thin yellow body.
“Nobody needs me! - thought Rostov. - There is no one to help or feel sorry for. And I was once at home, strong, cheerful, loved.” “He sighed and involuntarily groaned with a sigh.
- Oh, what hurts? - asked the soldier, shaking his shirt over the fire, and, without waiting for an answer, he grunted and added: - You never know how many people have been spoiled in a day - passion!
Rostov did not listen to the soldier. He looked at the snowflakes fluttering over the fire and remembered the Russian winter with a warm, bright house, a fluffy fur coat, fast sleighs, a healthy body and with all the love and care of his family. “And why did I come here!” he thought.
The next day, the French did not resume the attack, and the rest of Bagration’s detachment joined Kutuzov’s army.

Prince Vasily did not think about his plans. He even less thought of doing evil to people in order to gain benefit. He was only a secular man who had succeeded in the world and made a habit out of this success. He constantly, depending on the circumstances, depending on his rapprochement with people, drew up various plans and considerations, of which he himself was not well aware, but which constituted the entire interest of his life. Not one or two such plans and considerations were in his mind, but dozens, of which some were just beginning to appear to him, others were achieved, and others were destroyed. He did not say to himself, for example: “This man is now in power, I must gain his trust and friendship and through him arrange for the issuance of a one-time allowance,” or he did not say to himself: “Pierre is rich, I must lure him to marry his daughter and borrow the 40 thousand I need”; but a man in strength met him, and at that very moment instinct told him that this man could be useful, and Prince Vasily became close to him and at the first opportunity, without preparation, by instinct, flattered, became familiar, talked about what what was needed.
Pierre was under his arm in Moscow, and Prince Vasily arranged for him to be appointed a chamber cadet, which was then equivalent to the rank of state councilor, and insisted that the young man go with him to St. Petersburg and stay in his house. As if absent-mindedly and at the same time with an undoubted confidence that this should be so, Prince Vasily did everything that was necessary in order to marry Pierre to his daughter. If Prince Vasily had thought about his plans ahead, he could not have had such naturalness in his manners and such simplicity and familiarity in his relations with all the people placed above and below himself. Something constantly attracted him to people stronger or richer than himself, and he was gifted with the rare art of catching exactly the moment when it was necessary and possible to take advantage of people.
Pierre, having unexpectedly become a rich man and Count Bezukhy, after recent loneliness and carelessness, felt so surrounded and busy that he could only be left alone with himself in bed. He had to sign papers, deal with government offices, the meaning of which he had no clear idea of, ask the chief manager about something, go to an estate near Moscow and receive many people who previously did not want to know about his existence, but now would offended and upset if he didn’t want to see them. All these various persons - businessmen, relatives, acquaintances - were all equally well disposed towards the young heir; all of them, obviously and undoubtedly, were convinced of the high merits of Pierre. He constantly heard the words: “With your extraordinary kindness,” or “with your wonderful heart,” or “you yourself are so pure, Count...” or “if only he were as smart as you,” etc., so he He sincerely began to believe in his extraordinary kindness and his extraordinary mind, especially since it always seemed to him, deep down in his soul, that he was really very kind and very smart. Even people who had previously been angry and obviously hostile became tender and loving towards him. Such an angry eldest of the princesses, with a long waist, with hair smoothed like a doll’s, came to Pierre’s room after the funeral. Lowering her eyes and constantly flushing, she told him that she was very sorry for the misunderstandings that had happened between them and that now she felt she had no right to ask for anything, except permission, after the blow that had befallen her, to stay for a few weeks in the house that she loved so much and where made so many sacrifices. She couldn't help but cry at these words. Touched that this statue-like princess could change so much, Pierre took her hand and asked for an apology, without knowing why. From that day on, the princess began to knit a striped scarf for Pierre and completely changed towards him.
– Do it for her, mon cher; “All the same, she suffered a lot from the dead man,” Prince Vasily told him, letting him sign some kind of paper in favor of the princess.
Prince Vasily decided that this bone, a bill of 30 thousand, had to be thrown to the poor princess so that it would not occur to her to talk about Prince Vasily’s participation in the mosaic portfolio business. Pierre signed the bill, and from then on the princess became even kinder. The younger sisters also became affectionate towards him, especially the youngest, pretty, with a mole, often embarrassed Pierre with her smiles and embarrassment at the sight of him.
It seemed so natural to Pierre that everyone loved him, it would seem so unnatural if someone did not love him, that he could not help but believe in the sincerity of the people around him. Moreover, he did not have time to ask himself about the sincerity or insincerity of these people. He constantly had no time, he constantly felt in a state of meek and cheerful intoxication. He felt like the center of something important general movement; felt that something was constantly expected of him; that if he didn’t do this, he would upset many and deprive them of what they expected, but if he did this and that, everything would be fine - and he did what was required of him, but something good remained ahead.
More than anyone else at this first time, Prince Vasily took possession of both Pierre’s affairs and himself. Since the death of Count Bezukhy, he has not let Pierre out of his hands. Prince Vasily had the appearance of a man weighed down by affairs, tired, exhausted, but out of compassion, unable to finally abandon this helpless young man, the son of his friend, to the mercy of fate and the rogues, apres tout, [in the end,] and with such a huge fortune. In those few days that he stayed in Moscow after the death of Count Bezukhy, he called Pierre to himself or came to him himself and prescribed to him what needed to be done, in such a tone of fatigue and confidence, as if he was saying every time:
“Vous savez, que je suis accable d"affaires et que ce n"est que par pure charite, que je m"occupe de vous, et puis vous savez bien, que ce que je vous propose est la seule chose faisable." [ You know, I am swamped with business; but it would be merciless to leave you like this; of course, what I am telling you is the only possible one.]
“Well, my friend, tomorrow we’re going, finally,” he told him one day, closing his eyes, moving his fingers on his elbow and in such a tone, as if what he was saying had been decided a long time ago between them and could not be decided otherwise.
“We’re going tomorrow, I’ll give you a place in my stroller.” I am very happy. Everything important is over here. I should have needed it a long time ago. This is what I received from the chancellor. I asked him about you, and you were enlisted in the diplomatic corps and made a chamber cadet. Now the diplomatic path is open to you.
Despite the strength of the tone of fatigue and the confidence with which these words were spoken, Pierre, who had been thinking about his career for so long, wanted to object. But Prince Vasily interrupted him in that cooing, bassy tone that excluded the possibility of interrupting his speech and which he used when extreme persuasion was necessary.
- Mais, mon cher, [But, my dear,] I did it for myself, for my conscience, and there is nothing to thank me for. No one ever complained that he was too loved; and then, you are free, even if you quit tomorrow. You will see everything for yourself in St. Petersburg. And it’s high time for you to move away from these terrible memories. – Prince Vasily sighed. - Yes, yes, my soul. And let my valet ride in your carriage. Oh yes, I forgot,” Prince Vasily added, “you know, mon cher, that we had scores with the deceased, so I received it from Ryazan and will leave it: you don’t need it.” We will settle with you.
What Prince Vasily called from “Ryazan” were several thousand quitrents, which Prince Vasily kept for himself.
In St. Petersburg, as in Moscow, an atmosphere of gentle, loving people surrounded Pierre. He could not refuse the place or, rather, the title (because he did nothing) that Prince Vasily brought him, and there were so many acquaintances, calls and social activities that Pierre, even more than in Moscow, experienced a feeling of fog and haste and everything that is coming, but some good is not happening.
Many of his former bachelor society were not in St. Petersburg. The guard went on a campaign. Dolokhov was demoted, Anatole was in the army, in the provinces, Prince Andrei was abroad, and therefore Pierre was not able to spend his nights as he had previously liked to spend them, or to occasionally unwind in a friendly conversation with an older, respected friend. All his time was spent at dinners, balls and mainly with Prince Vasily - in the company of the fat princess, his wife, and the beautiful Helen.

The infamous “Club 27” (eng. 27 Club; second name “Forever 27”) of world famous rock stars, into which they are “accepted” only posthumously. This so-called club includes talented musicians who had a significant influence on the formation and development of rock and blues music. They made a huge contribution to music, but not only this unites them - they all died at the height of popularity at the age of 27, often under strange, and sometimes completely mysterious and unclear circumstances. These people were so young, but they already left behind an imperishable legacy of music and lyrics and millions of fans around the world. Personally, I find it difficult to think about what they would have achieved had they lived a few more decades.

The history of Club 27 began in 1938. And the impetus for the “creation” of such a club was three deaths over a period of 10 months. These were Brian Jones, guitarist and one of the founders of the Rolling Stones (February 28, 1942), Jimi Hendrix - one of the best guitarists in the history of rock music (November 27, 1942), Janis Joplin - one of the greatest rock vocalists (January 19, 1943).

What is this? A tragic coincidence or some kind of ridiculous pattern? Why do people at the peak of fame leave us, and at such a young age? Where does this desire for self-destruction come from? Reading the biographies of musicians, I was amazed at how they simply burned themselves, burned their lives. What kind of fire was it that burned them from the inside? The destructive power of their talent, which threw them from one extreme to another, the “curse of the number 27,” or the awareness of the imperfection of our world that even their talent cannot change? And understanding this, somewhat differently with their heightened creative perception than ordinary people, they preferred to leave this life so as not to see what was happening? Or realizing that they have already performed their best songs and will not write anything better and forces them to leave this world? Maybe they can't stand the pressure of fame. Or is it a critical age of 27 years that they need to step over, and they did not have the strength to take this step.

There are currently 48 musicians on this list. Club members are divided into two groups. The first group includes seven musicians who were world famous and incredibly popular. First on the list of seven musicians was Robert Johnson. The list also included Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Brian Jones was later added to the list, with Morrison and Jones dying on the same day, but two years apart. Then Kurt Cobain, who died in 1994, at the peak of his popularity, was included in the Club. After the death of English singer Amy Winehouse in 2011, she was also included in the Club.

One of the most famous bluesmen of the 20th century. He had a powerful influence on the development of blues and rock, and became one of the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The official version is that he was shot by the jealous husband of one of his mistresses. According to another version, he was poisoned with strychnine. There is a very interesting fact in his biography. One fine day, a guy who couldn't play the guitar disappears, and after returning he becomes the best bluesman of his time. According to legend (and the musician himself), Johnson made a deal with the devil at the intersection of 61 and 49 roads in Clarksdale, but did not read the terms of the agreement written in small letters and that is why the devil continues to take the souls of the greatest 27 year old musicians.

In his most famous songs (Me and the devil blues, Hellhound on my trail, Crossroad blues) he directly mentions this crossroads.

The founder of the oldest rock band in the world, the Rolling Stones, is a talented musician and complex person. Less than a month before the musician’s death, his colleagues kicked him out of the group. Around midnight on July 3, 1969, Brian Jones was discovered at the bottom of the swimming pool at his Hartfield estate. He went into the water for a few minutes, and his girlfriend Anna Wolin, who was present at the house during the incident, is convinced that Jones was alive when they pulled him out of the water, claiming that the musician had a pulse. Arriving doctors confirmed death. The conclusion of the examination states “death by negligence”; it also notes that the heart and liver of the deceased were deformed as a result of alcohol and drug abuse. There was also a possibility of suicide. In 1999, Anna Wolin stated that the musician was killed by a builder who, along with a companion, was helping them restore the estate, Frank Thorogood, which the latter allegedly confessed to before his death to Rolling Stones driver Tom Keylock, but there is no other evidence to prove this version.

Jimi Hendrix

According to Rolling Stones magazine, Jimi Hendrix is ​​the greatest guitarist of all time. Jimi Hendrix was born in the USA but first gained fame in the UK.

The night before his death, Hendrix ate a tuna sandwich, then took nine Vesperax sleeping pills, which his girlfriend Monica Danneman was taking, washed down the pills with red wine and went to bed. According to Danneman, when she woke up at approximately 10:20 a.m. on September 18, 1970, Hendrix was lying on his bed covered in vomit and did not respond to her attempts to wake him. After this, the girl called an ambulance. According to the official version, the cause of death was aspiration of vomit after barbiturate poisoning. Many years later, a police patrol report was made public with a completely different version. The police did not find anyone in the hotel room except the deceased; the musician was fully dressed and “had been dead for some time.” It is then unclear why Monica Dannemann was allowed to make statements until her own death (also quite strange) in 1996. In 2009, one of the experts in the history of the music business stated that Hendrix was killed on the order of his manager, with whom he was going to terminate the contract. A doctor who examined the musician’s body in 1970 agreed with the plausibility of this version. Again, it is not clear why he remained silent for forty years.

Shortly before his death, in an interview with Swedish journalist Anna Bjorndal, Jimi Hendrix noted that he was unlikely to live to see 28 years of age. “The moment I feel that I can’t offer anything new in music, I will cease to exist on this planet... Unless I have a wife and raise kids? Otherwise, my life loses all meaning...” Strictly speaking, Hendrix was already 28 years old at the time of his death. But due to the exclusivity of his services to the world of music, he was nevertheless included in Club 27.

Jim Morrison.

The leader of one of the most famous rock bands of all time, The Doors, songwriter and sex symbol, Jim Morrison was the driving factor that elevated the group to the rank of cult. According to the official version, Jim Morrison died on July 3, 1971 in Paris from a heart attack, however, no one still knows the real cause of his death. Among the options were: a heroin overdose in the Parisian club “Rock-n-Roll Circus”, suicide, a staged suicide by the FBI, which was then actively fighting participants in the hippie movement, and so on. There are still rumors surrounding his death. The only person who saw the singer's death was Morrison's girlfriend, Pamela Courson. But she took the secret of his death with her to the grave, as she died of a drug overdose three years later. The public became aware of the musician’s death after the funeral, which was very quiet and modest.

The circumstances of Morrison's death, as well as his hasty, secret funeral, have led to a variety of conspiracy theories, ranging from the plausible to the completely crazy. Kurson's explanations also caused confusion. At first, she said that after they watched movies and listened to music all night, she found the musician dead in the bathtub. Then, a person who knows members of The Doors closely said that after returning to the United States, Kurson admitted that Morrison died from an overdose of heroin, which he began to inhale, confusing it with cocaine. According to another version, he died by choking on his own vomit. There is another theory that claims that the musician faked his own death in order to be able to lead the ordinary life of a normal person. In 2007, they again started talking about Morrison's death due to a heroin overdose. This time, the owner of a Parisian club said that the musician died while in his club, where he came to buy heroin for Courson. Drug dealers then carried Morrison's body out of the club and placed it in a bathtub in his own apartment.

Jim Morrison is buried in Paris at the Père Lachaise cemetery. His grave became a place of cult worship for fans, who covered the neighboring graves with inscriptions about their love for their idol and lines from The Doors songs.

Janis Joplin.

Date of birth - January 19, 1943, date of death - October 7 (according to other sources 4), 1970. Joplin was also the brightest woman in the music world of her time - in the 1960s. She was ugly (one of the students at the college where Janice studied very briefly called her “the ugliest guy in college”), unloved at school, and was introduced to drugs and alcohol early.

Janis Joplin rose to fame in 1967 as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company. But in 1961, Joplin began to actively participate in the music scene in California, where she became addicted to heroin, and in subsequent years became addicted to strong alcohol. Before becoming a celebrity, Janice was a loser, burdened with many complexes associated primarily with her ordinary appearance. This turned her into a rude teenager who would never part with a can of beer. She was shunned by her peers, but she made many friends among older people. At the moment when Janice became famous, she waged an unsuccessful fight against her addictions: alcohol, drugs, as well as promiscuous sex life, as a result of which the singer contracted gonorrhea.

There are few details about her death. It is said that after listening to tracks for a new album with her third group, Full Tilt Boogie, she drank one or two drinks at the Hollywood club Barney's Beanery on Santa Monica Boulevard. She then returned to the hotel and injected herself with heroin. under the skin. With this method of administration, the drug enters the bloodstream much longer than when injecting it into a vein. She was then seen in the hotel lobby, where she bought a pack of cigarettes. Presumably, this was after she injected herself with the drug. The morning of Janis Joplin did not show up at Sunset Sound Studios, where work on the album was underway, after it became clear that phone calls she does not answer, the band's producer Paul Rothschild, tormented by foreboding, sent one of his assistants to room 105 of the Landmark Hotel in Los Angeles. Attempts to wake up the guest by knocking on the door were unsuccessful. An employee with a service key was called. Janice was lying between the bed and the night table in a short nightgown. Her lips were bloody. When the body was turned over, it turned out that her nose was broken. She was clutching money in her fist - $4.50. Experts say she lost control of herself when the heroin began to take effect and collapsed, hitting her head on the dressing table. The official version of the singer's death is acute morphine poisoning after a heroin overdose. The investigation revealed that the drug dealer sold Joplin and other clients lethal doses of heroin because the pharmacist who usually tested the product was out of town. At the same time, eight more people died who bought heroin from the same dealer.

The album with the symbolic name Pearl ("Pearl") was released posthumously. The death of the 27-year-old rising star gave the release a sensational character. "Pearl" soared to the top of the American charts. The last song that Janice did not have time to record was called “Buried Alive in the Blues.”

Kurt Donald Cobain

Guitarist and vocalist of the cult group “Nirvana”, which opened a new direction of alternative music - “grunge” (which for a long time remained the main trend of the musical world). Cobain is a classic example of a man who got too much, too fast. Back in the mid-80s, he was unknown to anyone, and then he quickly soared to the heights of fame. And he failed this test.

He tried to drown out his internal contradictions alcohol and analgesics, which he claimed he needed to treat and prevent stomach diseases. On April 8, 1994, an electrician found the musician's body in the guest room above the garage of his Washington Lake home, but experts determined that he died much earlier - around April 5. For several days before his body was discovered, nothing was known about his whereabouts, and his wife Courtney Love had already asked a private investigator to find the musician. All evidence points to Cobain committing suicide with a single shot to the head. But conspiracy theorists are convinced that the musician was killed. However, no evidence was found to indicate murder. But there was a lot of indisputable evidence that Cobain was suicidal. As a child he suffered from attention deficit disorder, which adolescence developed into bipolar affective disorder, and in the matured musician - into depression. There were rumors that Cobain was eager to become members of the sad famous Club 27 and complains of severe stomach pain. He stated that he takes heroin instead of medication because it is the only thing keeping him from shooting himself in the forehead. The police weren't involved in-depth study affairs. It is known that at the time of suicide, Kurt was pumped up with a heavy dose of heroin.

Those. If Cobain had not shot himself with a gun before the drug took effect (less than a minute), he would not have been able to do so after. He would simply not be able to pull the trigger. No fingerprints were found on the gun either. According to the unofficial version, Courtney Love is considered a suspect in Kurt's murder. Cobain left suicide note, written in red pen, in which he admitted that he no longer had passion and felt no excitement when listening to and creating music. “I have no more passion, so remember: it’s better to burn out than to fade away, peace, love, compassion. Kurt Cobain” - these were the last words of the grunge rock icon. The musician’s mother, hearing about his death, shrugged her shoulders: “Here you go - you’ve become a member of this stupid club!”

Amy Winehouse

Chris Goodman, the singer's manager, told Us Magazine that Amy passed away alone in her bed. Her body was discovered by a security guard, Andrew Morris. Before her death, the singer said that she wanted to rest and went to her room. And when the security came in to wake her up, the singer was no longer breathing. The Sun writes that death could have occurred about 6 hours ago before it was discovered. Moreover, as the examination reported, no traces of drugs were found in the star’s apartment; moreover, the night before Amy, who suffered from alcohol and drug addiction, visited her doctor, who, after an examination, did not reveal that there were drugs or alcohol in her blood.

However, many saw (there was probably a long line) how Amy bought drugs before her death - ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine. The singer’s family is reluctant to discuss the topic of the star’s death with the tabloids. In one interview, Janice Winehouse (Amy's mother) admitted that she knew that her daughter's death was only a matter of time. And her father allegedly began preparing a eulogy a couple of years before the incident. The result of death was made public only 4 months later; it was alcohol intoxication. Amy's latest achievement was a song recorded with the great jazz singer Tony Bennett, which brought Amy her 6th Grammy Award. The audience gave this victory a standing ovation...

The second group included 42 musicians who were slightly less popular. Here are the names of some of them.

Richie Edwards- Rhythm guitarist for the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers - is the only member of Club 27 who may still be alive. During the band's heyday, Edwards was its most talented member and in a significant way influenced the formation of her style and the creation of many of her songs. This is despite the lack of deep musical knowledge or ability. Edwards also brought the band to public attention when, following an argument with NME journalist Steve Lamacq, who questioned the band's authenticity, he used a razor blade to carve the words 4REAL into his arm. In addition, the musician openly spoke about the fact that he suffered from bouts of depression and mental disorders - at that time it was not customary to talk about such things.

During his time with the Manic Street Preachers, the band released their first three albums - Generation Terrorists, Gold Against The Soul and The Holy Bible - which were well received and helped make the band's name. But on February 1, 1995 - the day he was supposed to fly to the United States to promote The Holy Bible album - Richie Edwards disappeared. Two weeks later, his car was found at a service station near a bridge in Wales, the site of many suicides. This is how the version of the musician’s suicide was born. His body was never found, and attempts to find the musician were made for many years. And only in 2008 the musician was declared dead.

Kristen Pfaff. June 16, 1994. Bass player of “Hole”. A classically trained pianist and cellist, Kristen Pfaff picked up the bass guitar in the early 1990s to form Janitor Joe. Impressed by her performance, Hole band members Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson invited Pfaff to work with them. She eventually agreed and moved to Seattle, where she helped the band create the Live Through This album. This album was a turning point for Hole, but its release was overshadowed by tragedy, as Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love's husband, committed suicide a few days earlier. Kristen Pfaff, who became Cobain's friend, was shocked by his death and returned home to Minneapolis. She left the band Hole and was about to reunite Janitor Joe. Leaving Seattle, Pfaff intended to give up drugs - during her stay in the northwest, the girl developed a heroin addiction. But two months after Cobain's death, Pfaff died of an accidental heroin overdose.

Chris Bell. December 27, 1978. Vocalist, songwriter and guitarist for Big Star. Car accident, hit a telephone pole. The founder of the power-pop rock band Big Star, widely known in the 1970s, Chris Bell never reached the heights of his career during his lifetime. He was the main driving force behind the release of the band's debut album #1 Record, which received accolades music critics, but was not a commercial success. Bell soon left the band, apparently unwilling to be overshadowed by fellow lead vocalist and Big Star songwriter Alex Chilton, or depressed by the failure of their debut album. The band's second album, Radio City, also included several songs by Bell, who, however, decided to pursue solo work.

But between leaving the group in 1972 and his death in 1978, he only released two songs. One of them - I Am The Cosmo - became the title track of the musician's posthumous solo album, which was released in 1992, receiving the most enthusiastic reviews. Bell suffered from depression and was addicted to drugs, but he died in an accident. It happened just at the moment when the musician was expecting a new takeoff in his career. The single for the album I Am The Cosmos had just been released and Bell was trying to put together new group. And at that moment he dies, crashing his car into a tree, losing control at high speed. This happened two days after Christmas, in 1978. Bell never saw the release of his album, nor the recognition of his work with Big Star by a new generation of indie-pop fans.

Dee Boone. December 22, 1985. Guitarist and vocalist of the punk band Minutemen. The Minutemen are an iconic band that has had a significant impact on the world of music. And even after its breakup in 1985, it still had many fans. At four full albums and several EPs, the band embraced a variety of musical styles, combining extravagant funk with elements of jazz and punk rock, which often used words, as well as elements of the blues or a touch of country, which helped them create a completely unique form of alternative rock (at the time this term was not yet common). At the height of their popularity, the band released the epic 45-track double album Double Nickels On The Dime. To this day it is considered one of the best albums of the 1980s. But with the death of guitarist Dee Boon came the end of glory.

In 1985, two days before Christmas, the band was returning from a concert tour and Dee Boon, recovering from an illness, was riding in the back of a van without a seat belt on. Suddenly the van went off the road and Dee Boon, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle and broke his neck. Such was the sad end of a progressive and talented guitarist, who was later named by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. His Minutemen bandmate Mike Watt still dedicates each of his new records to his friend Dee Boon.

Alexander Bashlachev. February 17, 1988. Soviet rock musician and poet. Fell out of the window. Possibly suicide. On the morning of February 17, 1988, he fell from an eighth-floor window and died on the spot. The most likely version of death is suicide, however real reasons the falls have not been clearly established.

Pete da Freitas. June 14, 1989. Drummer of the band “Echo & the Bunnymen”. He crashed on a motorcycle while returning from filming a video.

Igor Chumychkin. April 12, 1993. Russian rock musician, lead guitarist of the Alisa group. He died on April 12, 1993, jumping out of the window of his Moscow apartment. There is no doubt that Chumychkin fell out of the window under the influence of drugs. He was deeply depressed for a long time due to drug abuse, and eventually walked out of his apartment window. Such death is typical for a person under the influence of drugs. He said that he was not a kamikaze, but in the end he played exactly this role. Before his death, he wrote the last quatrain, leaving the paper on the table: “If I were Tsiolkovsky, I would build a big rocket, load it with black and white, leave into the night, but return by dawn...”.

Jeremy Ward. May 25, 2003. Sound engineer for the bands “The Mars Volta and De Facto”. Heroin overdose.

Jesse Belvin. February 6, 1960. Rhythm and blues musician and songwriter. Died in a car accident.

Ellen Wilson. September 3, 1970. Leader, vocalist and composer of the group “Canned Heat”. Overdose of barbiturates, possibly suicide.

Leslie Harvey. May 2, 1972. Guitarist for Stone the Crows. Electric shock at your own concert.

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan. March 3, 1973. Original member and keyboardist of the Grateful Dead. Gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by alcoholism.

David Alexander. February 10, 1975. Bassist of The Stooges. Pulmonary edema, was hospitalized for acute pancreatitis caused by alcoholism.

Peter Ham. April 24, 1975. Keyboardist, guitarist and founder of the band Badfinger. Suicide by hanging.

And if some consider the age of 27 fatal for rock musicians, others are sure that this is nothing more than a myth, and not a curse. If we analyze biographical information famous musicians over the last 100 years, we can clearly come to the conclusion that they die at the age of 27 no more often than at any other age. Yes, musicians die earlier than “ordinary” people, and many of them actually die before they reach 40. There is a simple explanation for this “phenomenon”: the lives of rock musicians are accompanied by alcohol and drugs. To this you can also add a busy lifestyle, constant travel, tours, and emotional overload. Many musicians like to believe that turning to drugs and alcohol is a consequence of overload. But the fact remains that the existence of Club 27 is the result of a biased selection of random coincidences. And in fact, there is no “curse 27”. In 2011, researchers from the Australian University of Technology tried to question the Club 27 phenomenon based on statistical analysis. Having studied information about the deaths of not only great or significant musicians for rock history, but also everyone who managed to get to the top of the British hit parade in the period from 1956 to 2007 (1046 names, both soloists and members of pop and rock -groups), they found that musicians die at the age of 27 no more often than at any other age. In their sample, 71 people (7%) died. Although in general musicians die earlier than ordinary people (often before the age of 40), the existence of the special “club 27” was called by researchers the result of a biased selection of facts and random coincidences. However, scientists also found some evidence of an increase in the number of deaths in the 20-30 year old musicians cluster in the 1970s and early 1980s, and the mortality rate for young musicians in this age group was 2-3 times higher than that of the general UK population.

Every time young and talented people pass away (no matter at 27 or 47), I think about how much more they could have “created” in the good sense of the word. Write, perform. Perhaps these unwritten creations would illuminate our existence, and who knows, maybe they were the ones who could change this world?

"It's funny how much most people love dead people. Once you die, the living will become interested in you. You have to die to decide that you're worth something."

2018 has already claimed enough lives of rock musicians whose works fans listen to of this genre worldwide. We decided to create a separate series of articles that will collect information and achievements of those rockers who passed away this year.

It makes no sense to talk about how popular rock music is worldwide - everyone understands this perfectly well without words. And it’s very sad when those whose songs influenced you and pushed you to something more, to new achievements, pass away. And 2018 has already claimed the lives of such people - let’s remember them, and “Owl” will help you with this.

Bret Hoffman

Bret Hoffman - former vocalist of American death metal band Malevolent Creation.He passed away on July 7 - he died of cancer. His creative path was thorny and complicated - he left and returned to the team three times. Bret took part as vocalist on most of the records. Malevolent Creation. Therefore, he is very well known to American listeners.

Steve Soto

Steve Soto- a musician who was one of the most popular punks for many years. He performed in such punk bands as SoCal, the Adolescents And Agent Orange. But most of his career took place precisely with the Adolescents (translated from English as “teenagers”): with them he recorded a lot good compositions. As the group reported, Steve died in his sleep, and there were no signs of trouble. In addition, the Adolescents were about to go on tour in Europe.

Vincent Paul Abbott, best known in the rock world as Vinnie Paul, is one of the founders of the heavy metal band Pantera. He also performed as a drummer in bands Damageplan and Hellyeah. Willie is one of those who managed to give a new impetus to the development of heavy metal in the 90s. The musician died at the age of 55, at his home in Las Vegas.

Ben Graves

Ben Graves- musician with a spectacular appearance, former drummer of an American horror-punk band Murderdolls(2002-2004) and groups Dope(2005-2006). He died in May 2018 after a long battle with cancer at the age of 45.

Tim Calvert- American metal guitarist, composer and author of many songs. My creative activity he carried out in groups Forbidden and Nevermore. In the early 2000s, he decided to quit music and began working as a civilian pilot. However, in April 2018 he passed away - he died at the age of 52 from an aggressive form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Caleb Scofield- bass guitar player, from 1998 to 2006 performed in the group Cave In. After the collapse of the team, he created his own project called Zozobra and also played in the band Old Man Gloom. But at the end of March 2018, tragedy struck - the pickup truck in which Caleb was driving crashed into the concrete barrier of the bridge and immediately caught fire. The musician died on the spot. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Josh Martin- guitarist of the group Anal Cunt, who performed as part of the group from 1996 to 2011, when the group broke up due to the death of group leader Seth Putnam. Last years John did not part with music - he performed with amateur groups, as well as in tribute shows. But at the end of May 2018, his life ended in the most ridiculous way - an official statement from the Rhode Island State Police says that the musician was “fooling around and riding on the handrail of an escalator” in one of the shopping centers, after which he fell from it to the floor, hitting his head on table in the food court area. Josh died at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident.

This concludes the first part of our selection. We will continue to talk about rock musicians who passed away in 2018 in the next part. Stay tuned.

Many of the greats musical talents passed away in the prime of their lives, leaving their fans to mourn their death.

How much more wonderful music they could have created is anyone's guess. But the brilliant Photoshop masters from the Phojoe agency will help us see what rock stars would look like in old age.

They used the same technique that is used for age progression of missing persons. You will see such aged rock stars as: John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, etc.

Jim Morrison

This is what The Doors frontman Jim Morrison would have looked like if he had lived into the new millennium and not died of cardiac arrest in Paris in 1971 at the age of 27, after years of hard living and drug and alcohol abuse. If Morrison were alive, he would be 70 years old.

Bob Marley

The king of reggae music, Bob Marley, would be 68 today if not for his tragic death from cancer in 1981 at the age of 36.

Ellen Naomi Cohen

Ellen Naomi Cohen, known as Cass Elliot, was born in Baltimore in 1941 and achieved enormous popularity by forming the group "The Mamas & the Papas" in 1965. After the group split, she began a solo career, and later, when she turned 32, she died of a heart attack in the London apartment owned by singer Harry Nilsson. Ellen Naomi Cohen would have celebrated her 72nd birthday in September.

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, committed suicide in 1994 by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun when he was 27 years old. Today he would be 46 years old.

Bobby Darin

Bobby Darin achieved success by performing the world famous song called "Splish Splash". Bobby Darin died of heart failure at 37. He would be 77 today.

Karen Carpenter

Karen Carpenter rocketed to stardom with her brother Richard in their band The Carpenters in 1970. Richard was on drugs and regularly took pills, and Karen, trying to lose weight, starved herself and took laxative pills. Karen Carpenter died in 1983 of heart failure at the age of 32. Today she would be 63 years old.

John Lennon

John Lennon is one of the members of the legendary group "Beatles". He was killed in 1980 at the age of 40 while leaving his apartment in New York. Today John Lennon would be 73 years old.

Keith Moon

Keith Moon, drummer for The Who, died of a drug overdose in 1978 at the age of 32 (coincidentally, he died in the same Harry Nilsson apartment where Cass Elliott had died four years earlier. It is understood that Nilsson later sold his apartment) . Keith Moon was infamous for his strange behavior and the urge to create art by trashing hotel rooms. He was one of rock's greatest drummers. He would have turned 67 this year.

Janis Joplin

Janis Lyn Joplin is considered the best white blues singer. She loved bourbon, took amphetamines and was addicted to heroin, and in the end it got to her in 1970, Janice died of an overdose when she was 27 years old. In 1995, Janis Joplin was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She would be 70 years old now

Elvis Presley

King Elvis Presley became a star almost overnight thanks to rock music and his acting talent in the 1950s. He died in 1977 at age 42 from heart failure after battling drug addiction. The King would have been 78 years old today.