27 Club

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1971

“It’s funny how most people love the dead.

Once you’re dead, you’re made for life.”

JAMES “JIMI” HENDRIX (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. Even though he was in the “spotlight” for only three years before his death, he is still widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in music history, and one of the most influential musicians of his era. After initial success in Europe with his group The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he achieved fame in the US following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Later, Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He often favored overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback. Hendrix, as well as his friend Eric Clapton, popularized use of the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock which he often used to deliver an exaggerated sense of pitch in his solos, particularly with high bends, complex guitar playing, and use of legato. As a record producer, Hendrix also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. He was one of the first to experiment with the stereophonic phasing effects for many late rock and roll recordings.

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1971

“It’s funny how most people love the dead.

Once you’re dead, you’re made for life.”

Hendrix was and is known as one of Rock and Roll’s lengendary artists in music.

JIMI HENDRIX

JAMES “JIMI” HENDRIX (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. Even though he was in the “spotlight” for only three years before his death, he is still widely considered to be the greatest electric guitarist in music history, and one of the most influential musicians of his era. After initial success in Europe with his group The Jimi Hendrix Experience, he achieved fame in the US following his 1967 performance at the Monterey Pop Festival.

Later, Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He often favored overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback. Hendrix, as well as his friend Eric Clapton, popularized use of the wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock which he often used to deliver an exaggerated sense of pitch in his solos, particularly with high bends, complex guitar playing, and use of legato. As a record producer, Hendrix also broke new ground in using the recording studio as an extension of his musical ideas. He was one of the first to experiment with the stereophonic phasing effects for many late rock and roll recordings.

32 Rolling Stone–July 2012

Hendrix jamming out with The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

CAREER INFLUENCES AND DEATH Hendrix was influenced by blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James, rhythm, soul, and blues guitarists Curtis Mayfield and Steve Cropper, and the epic jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery.

Hendrix began dressing and also wearing a moustache like Little Richard when he performed and recorded in his band from March 1, 1964 through to the spring of 1965. In 1966, In an interview, Hendrix once notably stated, “I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice”. Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He often favored raw overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback. Hendrix certainly succeeded. Rolling Stone named Hendrix the top guitarist on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all-time.

Early on September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix died in London. He had spent the latter part of the previous evening at a party and was picked up at close to 3 by girlfriend Monika Dannemann. A former roadie, James Wright, published a book in May 2009 claiming manager, Mike Jeffery, admitted to him that he had Hendrix killed because the rock star wanted to end his management contract. Hendrix’s death was a devastating loss to roll and roll, and also and eeryily timed one. Just a few weeks later, fellow rock icon, Janis Joplin, would also lose her life and join the ranks of the growing and mysterious 27 club.

Hendrix’s legacy lives on today, like most musicians of his caliber and talent. Musically, charismatically, stylistically, Hendrix left more than a stamp on the music industry.

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Hendrix was and is known as one of Rock and Roll’s lengendary artists in music.

JIMI HENDRIX

Hendrix jamming out with The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

CAREER INFLUENCES AND DEATH Hendrix was influenced by blues artists such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James, rhythm, soul, and blues guitarists Curtis Mayfield and Steve Cropper, and the epic jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery.

Hendrix began dressing and also wearing a moustache like Little Richard when he performed and recorded in his band from March 1, 1964 through to the spring of 1965. In 1966, In an interview, Hendrix once notably stated, “I want to do with my guitar what Little Richard does with his voice”. Hendrix headlined the iconic 1969 Woodstock Festival and the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. He often favored raw overdriven amplifiers with high gain and treble and helped develop the previously undesirable technique of guitar amplifier feedback. Hendrix certainly succeeded. Rolling Stone named Hendrix the top guitarist on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all-time.

Early on September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix died in London. He had spent the latter part of the previous evening at a party and was picked up at close to 3 by girlfriend Monika Dannemann. A former roadie, James Wright, published a book in May 2009 claiming manager, Mike Jeffery, admitted to him that he had Hendrix killed because the rock star wanted to end his management contract. Hendrix’s death was a devastating loss to roll and roll, and also and eeryily timed one. Just a few weeks later, fellow rock icon, Janis Joplin, would also lose her life and join the ranks of the growing and mysterious 27 club.

Hendrix’s legacy lives on today, like most musicians of his caliber and talent. Musically, charismatically, stylistically, Hendrix left more than a stamp on the music industry.

5 Rolling Stone–July 2012

JIM MORRISON JAMES “JIM” MORRISON (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors, as well as a poet.

Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, to future Rear Admiral George Stephen Morrison and Clara Morrison.

Morrison Whad a sister, Anne Robin, who was born in 1947 in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and a brother, Andrew Lee Morrison, who was born in 1948 in Los Altos, California.

He was of Scottish descent.With his father in the United States Navy, Morrison’s family moved often. He spent part of his childhood in San Diego. While his father was stationed at NAS Kingsville, he attended Flato Elementary in Texas. It was here that Morrison realized that music was his passion. He channeled that passion into researching philosophers, reading countless novels for inspiration, and writing.

ROCK, FAME, AND DEATH Morrison was ranked number 47 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, and number 22 on Classic Rock Magazine’s 50 Greatest Singers In Rock. Morrison was inspired by the writings of philosophers and poets. He was influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche, whose views on aesthetics, morality, and the Apollonian and Dionysian duality would appear in his conversation, poetry and songs. He read Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Following The Doors’ explosive rise to fame in 1967, Morrison developed severe alcohol and drug dependency that culminated in his death at the age of 27 in Paris. He is presumed to have died from heroin overdose, but as no autopsy was performed, the events surrounding his death and the exact cause of it continue to be disputed by many in controversy to this day. Morrison was well known for often improvising spoken word poetry passages while the band played live. Due to his wild personality and performances, he is regarded by critics and fans as one of the most iconic, charismatic and pioneering Morrison was, and continues to be, one of the most popular and influential singer-songwriters in rock history. The Doors’ catalog has become a unequivocal staple of classic rock radio. To this day Morrison is regarded as the prototypical rock-star: sexy, scandalous and mysterious.

His legacy lives onto his grave site in Paris, where he died.

Millions of fans, past and present, have left kisses on the grave, which has now become a musical destination. Morrison lives on in song, on the radio, and influences countless fellow musicians to this day for his charm, talent, and charisma.

Doors fans continue to pay triubte to him and record sales continue to reain steady and as his undying legacy lives on.

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1

Morrison is still remembered by his legacy today,as thousands of fans continue to flock to his gravesite in Paris, France today.

1970

“Actually I don’t remember being born, it must have happened during one of my black outs.”

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1970 JANIS JOPLIN

Joplin was known as having an electric stage prescence. She was particularly notorious for her Woodstock performance in 1967.

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“I always wanted to be an artist, whatever that was.

I read, I painted.”

Stevie Nicks commented that after seeing Joplin perform, “I knew that a little bit of my destiny had changed.” Joplin’s legacy lives on.

JANIS LYN JOPLIN (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter from Port Arthur, Texas. As a youth Joplin was ridiculed by her fellow students due to her unconventional appearance and personal beliefs. She later sang about her experience at school through her song “Ego Rock.” Early in her life, Joplin cultivated a rebellious and unconventional lifestyle. She began her singing career as a folk and blues singer in San Francisco, playing clubs and bars with her guitar. Joplin first rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the psychedelic-acid rock band Big Brother and Company, and later as a solo artist with her more soulful, backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band. Janis Joplin only charted five singles in her life but her hits and other popular songs from throughout her short almost 4 year career include Down On Me, Bye, Bye Baby, Coo Coo, Summertime, Piece of My Heart, Turtle Blues, Ball ‘n’ Chain, Try (Just A Little Bit Harder), Maybe, To Love Somebody, Kozmic Blues, Work Me, Lord and her only number one hit to this very day being, Me and Bobby McGee. At the height of her career, she was known as The Queen of Rock and Roll as well as The Queen of Psychedelic Soul and became known as Pearl amongst her friends. Full Tilt Boogie’s road manager, John Cooke, drove to the Landmark Hotel. He saw Joplin’s psychedelically painted Porsche 356C Cabriolet in the parking lot. Upon entering her room, he found her dead on the floor beside her bed.

Cooke believes that Joplin had accidentally been given heroin that was much more potent than normal, as several of her dealer’s other customers also overdosed that week.

Joplin’s death in October 1970 at the age of 27 stunned her fans and shocked the music world, especially when coupled with the death just sixteen days earlier of another icon, Jimi Hendrix. Joplin’s will funded $1,500 to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party, which took place October 26, 1970, at the Lion’s Share, located in San Anselmo, CA, was attended by Joplin’s sister Laura, fiancé, Seth Morgan and close friends, including tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle, Bob Gordon, and road manager John Cooke. Music historian Tom Moon wrote Joplin had “a devastatingly original voice.” Columnist Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote that Joplin as an artist was “overpowering and deeply vulnerable.” Author Megan Terry claimed that Joplin was the female version of Elvis Presley in her ability to captivate an audience. Joplin, along with Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane, opened opportunities into the rock music business for future female singers. Stevie Nicks commented that after seeing Joplin perform, “I knew that a little bit of my destiny had changed.”

Joplin’s legacy lives on in her influence of female vocalists, her style and fashion choices, and her unconventional lifestyle.

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“There are still a lot of things I wish I would have done in life.”

KURT DONALD COBAIN was born on February 20, 1967, at Grays Harbor Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington, to a waitress, Wendy Elizabeth, and an automotive mechanic, Donald Leland Cobain. Cobain’s family had a musical background. His maternal uncle Chuck starred in a band called The Beachcombers, his Aunt Mari Earle played guitar and performed in bands throughout Grays Harbor County, and his uncle Delbert had a career as an Irish tenor; making an appearance in the 1930 film King of Jazz.

Cobain was described as being a happy and excitable, while sensitive and caring child. His talent as an artist was evident from an early age. Cobain began developing an interest in music early in his life. According to his Aunt Mari, he began singing at two years old. At age four, Cobain started playing the piano and singing, writing a song about their trip to a local park. He listened to artists like the Ramones and would sing songs like Arlo Guthrie’s Motorcycle Song, The Beatles’ Hey Jude, Terry Jacks’ Seasons in the Sun and the theme to The Monkees.

Cobain began learning guitar with a few covers, including Louie Louie and The Cars’ My Best Friend’s Girl, and soon began working on his own songs. During high school, Cobain rarely found anyone with whom he could play music. While hanging out at the Melvins’ practice space, he met Krist Novoselic, a fellow devotee of punk rock. Novoselic’s mother owned a hair salon. Cobain and Novoselic would occasionally practice in the upstairs room of the salon. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of a home demo recorded by Cobain’s earlier band, Fecal Matter. After months of asking, Novoselic finally agreed to join Cobain, forming the beginnings of Nirvana.

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1994

KURT COBAIN SUCCESS AND ADDICTION

Cobain was disenchanted after early touring, due to the band’s inability to draw substantial crowds and the apparent difficulty in sustaining themselves. After recruiting Dave Grohl (now lead singer of The Foo Fighters), the band found their greatest success via their 1991 major-label debut, Nevermind. With the lead single Smells Like Teen Spirit from Nirvana’s second album Nevermind (1991), Nirvana entered mainstream, popularizing a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. Since their debut, Nirvana, with Cobain as a songwriter, have sold over 25 million albums in the United States alone, and over 50 million globally.

The success of Nevermind provided numerous Seattle bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden to wider audiences, and as a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the United States during

Cobain struggled with addcition and depression for much of his life,which

the early-to-middle 1990s. Cobain’s discomfort with the media attention prompted him to focus on the band’s music and, believing their message and artistic vision to have been misinterpreted by the public, challenged the band’s audience with its third studio album In Utero (1993).

Cobain struggled to reconcile the massive success of Nirvana to his underground roots. On April 8, 1994, Cobain’s body was discovered at his Lake Washington home by an electrician who had arrived to install a security system. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain’s ear, the electrician reported seeing no visible signs of trauma, and initially believed Cobain was asleep until he saw a shotgun pointing at his chin. A suicide note was found and a concentration of heroin and traces of diazepam were also found in his body.

Cobain playing an aucoustic set of Nirvana’s first album “Nevermind” at VH1’s “Behind the Music” in 1992.

he often attributed to divorce.

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AMY JADE WINEHOUSE (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse’s 2003 debut album, Frank, was successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her 2006 follow-up album, Back to Black, led to six Grammy Award nominations and five wins, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night, and made Winehouse the first British female to win five Grammys, including three of the “Big Four”: Best New Artist, Record and Song of the Year.

After toying around with her brother’s guitar, Winehouse received her first guitar when she was 13 and began writing music a year later. Soon after, she worked for a living, at one time, as an entertainment journalist for the Entertainment News Network, in addition to singing with group the Bolsha Band. In 2000 she became the featured female vocalist with the National Jazz Orchestra; her influences included Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington. Her boyfriend at the time, soul singer Tyler James, sent her demo tape to an A&R person.

Winehouse signed to Simon Fuller’s 19 Management in 2002.

“I don’t think your ability to fight has anything to do with how big you are.

It’s with how much anger is in you.”

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AMY WINEHOUSE

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CAREER AND DEATH While being developed by the management company, she was kept as a recording industry secret. In 2007 she won a Brit Award for Best British Female Artist; she had also been nominated for Best British Album. She won the Ivor Novello Award three times: once in 2004 for Best Contemporary Song (musically and lyrically) for Stronger Than Me, once in 2007 for Best Contemporary Song for Rehab, and once in 2008 for Best Song Musically and Lyrically for Love Is a Losing Game.

Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011. In 2012, Winehouse was listed at number 26 on VH1s notorious list of the 100 Greatest Women In Music. Her album Back to Black subsequently became the UK’s best selling album of the 21st century thus far. Winehouse’s battles with substance abuse were the subject of much media attention. In 2005, she went through a period of drinking, heavy drug use, violent mood swings and weight loss. People who saw her during the end of that year and early 2006 reported a rebound that coincided with the writing of her most famous and celebrated album to date, Back to Black. Her family believes that the mid-2006 death of her grandmother, who was a stabilising influence, set her off into addiction. In August 2007, Winehouse cancelled a number of shows in the UK and Europe, citing exhaustion and ill health. She was hospitalised during this period for what was reported as an overdose of heroin, ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine and alcohol. In various interviews, she admitted to having such problems with self-harm, depression and eating disorders.

Winehouse admitted drugs were to blame for her being hospitalized. “I really thought that it was over for me then.”

Winehouse was one of the most unique voices and talents to grace the music industry, leaving behind one of her last performances with the lengendary Tony Bennett.

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