'27 Club' myth doesn't withstand scrutiny
Are famous musicians more likely than other people to die at age 27?
Apparently not. Not if they're British, at least.
That's the conclusion of a study posted Tuesday in the slightly offbeat Christmas issue of the online journal bmj.com. British researchers undertook to poke around at the premise behind the "27 Club," a group whose members include rock luminaries such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and, most recently, Amy Winehouse, all of whom died when they were 27.
The researchers -- three statisticians and one health economist -- devised a study to determine whether musicians who had achieved success (as defined by their having had a number-one album on the British charts between 1956 and 2007) were more likely than the average person in that country to die at that particular age. Their sample included 1,046 musicians of all ilks and genres (among them, the authors note, several Muppets), 522 of whom were designated as being "at risk" for having achieved their success before turning 27.
All told, only three deaths at age 27 were noted among those 522 young musicians. The study did, however, find that the risk of death for famous musicians in their 20s and 30s was twice or three times higher than for folks in the general population.
The authors acknowledge that their study needs repeating in the U.S., where some of the better-known musicians in the 27 Club were from and where circumstances surrounding fame might contribute differently to risk of death than they do in Britain. The authors note that of the 43 musicians listed in the Wikipedia entry describing the 27 Club, their study only identified 3.
The authors recommend further research into this important matter. As they write in their conclusion, "This finding should be of international concern, as musicians contribute greatly to populations' quality of life, so there is immense value in keeping them alive (and working) as long as possible."
By | 06:30 PM ET, 12/20/2011
Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and the 27 Club
Amy Winehouse's sad death came when she was just 27. It's an age that sounds familiar to anyone who knows their history regarding gone-too-soon musical artists.
The so-called 27 Club tragically has some notable members in addition to Winehouse: Jimi Hendrix mixed sleeping pills with wine and died at 27. Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones died at 27 after drowning in a swimming pool.
Jimi Hendrix performing at the Gillmore East. (HO/REUTERS)
Also gone at that age: Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and many other musicians, as listed on the subject's Wikipedia page.
Kurt Cobain (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Of course, this club of tragic coincidence is one that no one wishes existed. Wendy O'Connor, Cobain's mother, famously said, "Now he's gone and joined that stupid club," after her son's death in 1994. "I told him not to join that stupid club."
Sadly, there's proof that rock stars are more likely to become members. A 2007 study by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University determined that North American and British music stars were "twice as likely to die a premature death as ordinary citizens of the same age," according to an AP article.
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