Twenty-Seven Members of the "27" Club
Amy Winehouse is dead. Sadly, everyone saw it coming and could do nothing to stop it. Addiction's a cruel mistress, as the poets say, but the reality is far harsher than sad, tragic, romantic words. If it doesn't kill you, it will at very least torture you.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that many young people believe they'll never make it to 30. In their teens and early 20s, their 30s sound like a ridiculously long way off. But they aren't. And I can assure you there isn't a person over the age of 30 who thinks they should have already checked out. We now scoff at the notion that we would have done all the necessary living by 29. Living well is still the best revenge.
"27" is a magical age in rock. It is approximately around the time that songwriters need to learn to do consciously what they used to unconsciously, as Bob Dylan once explained regarding the change in his writing process. It is also an age that many artists never make it past.
Of course, the "24 Club" is pretty well-stocked: Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Tammi Terrell, the Notorious B.I.G., Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley of Hanoi Rocks (with an assist from Vince Neil), Andrew Wood, Peter Laughner of Rocket From the Tombs, and Metallica's Cliff Burton.
And the "26 Club" has some real quality, too: Otis Redding, Gram Parsons, Nick Drake, Jimmy McCulloch of Wings, and Hillel Slovak of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
John Keats leads the "25 Club." But 27 remains the "gold standard" for tragic death.
I'd much rather be writing the list for "Rockers Who Are 80."
Here are 27 rockers who died at 27.
27) Amy Winehouse - Many young people desire fame having no idea what it truly entails. Once there, they will do anything to avoid its pressures. Throw in the illness of addiction and you've got a staggering, slurring Molotov cocktail waiting to explode.
26) Les Harvey - Harvey was the co-founding guitarist for Stone The Crows and a member of the Alex Harvey Soul Band, the Blues Council, and the Scottish group Cartoone, who opened for Led Zeppelin. He was electrocuted by an ungrounded microphone.
25) Sean McCabe - Lead singer for the alternative rock band Ink And Dagger, McCabe pulled a John Bonham/Bon Scott and choked to death on his own vomit.
24) Helmut Kollen - Bassist and singer for German progressive rock band Triumvirat, Kollen died from carbon monoxide poisoning while listening to studio mixes in his car while running the engine with the garage door shut. Especially odd, since Kollen was an auto mechanic and race car driver.
23) Roger Durham - Percussionist for American R&B group Bloodstone, Durham fell off a horse.
22) Jesse Belvin - Belvin was an American R&B singer who wrote the classic tunes "Earth Angel" and "Goodnight My Love." He was killed in a head-on collision in the ironically named Hope, Arkansas.
21) Gary Thain -
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