Recently, the music industry lost one of the greatest female voices in recent history. Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment likely due to a drug or alcohol overdose (official report pending), which puts her in a select group of prominent musicians who have died at the age of 27. Known as the 27 Club, its five members have each made crucial impacts on the music industry in their era. This club currently consists of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, singer/songwriter/guitarist Jimi Hendrix, singer/songwriter Janis Joplin, The Doors singer/songwriter Jim Morrison and Nirvana singer/songwriter/guitarist Kurt Cobain.
    While Winehouse has not achieved the legendary status of all five current members of the 27 Club, she still made a significant impact on the music industry. Before Winehouse hit the charts in the mid 2000’s, there honestly weren’t many hugely successful female pop artists in the industry at the time. The success of Winehouse’s music is recognized as paving a way for female vocal talents such as VV Brown, Florence and the Machine, and even Lady Gaga.
    Today, we’ll respect the great musicians whose careers ended much too soon.
Brian Jones
Died: July 3, 1969
Impact on music:
    Jones is pretty much the reason The Rolling Stones exist. In the early sixties, Jones put out an ad looking for musicians to start an R&B group. Singer Mick Jagger soon joined the band, and brought on his friend Keith Richards. Jones acted as their first manager and sparked what would become one of the most popular bands of the decade. His most notable contribution to the band musically is playing sitar on “Paint it Black.”
Death:
    After being kicked out of the band because of his attitude towards the band and his substance abuse, Jones was found motionless in his own pool outside of London. The official coroner’s report said his death was a result from an enlarged liver and heart due to drug and alcohol abuse. However, Frank Thorogood (a builder who was staying at Jones’ house at the time) allegedly confessed to the murder on his deathbed to the Rolling Stones' driver. Having never been poven, it remains a mystery.
Jimi Hendrix
Died: September 18, 1970
Impact on music:
    The electric guitar can thank Hendrix for being one of its greatest innovators and major reasons for its notability in rock music. His experiments with feedback and other effects made the electric guitar more than simply a louder acoustic guitar. For example, check out his version of “The Star Spangled Banner” he performed at Woodstock. Hendrix created a whole new sound and style of music that is becoming only more impressive thanks to new technology.
Death:
    There are many mysteries surrounding Hendrix’s death, but signs show that it was most likely an accidental drug overdose. What is generally accepted is that some time after a party, Hendrix was brought back to his girlfriend’s flat in London, where he eventually asphyxiated in his own vomit. What exactly the incident was will likely never be known due to errors in his surgeon’s report and inconsistencies in his girlfriend’s testimony.

Janis Joplin
Died: October 4, 1970
Impact on music:
    As the only woman member of this fivesome, she is also the owner of the club’s greatest voice. That voice led her to be one of the most prominent musicians of the sixties. Add the fact that she’s a woman in a male-dominant industry, and that’s a pretty big deal. What Winehouse did for current pop was what Joplin did for classic rock, only on a much greater scale. Joplin was deemed the “Queen of Rock and Roll” during her success and will never lose that status.
Death:
    Despite her enthusiasm in music and success in the spotlight, it was Joplin’s drug and alcohol addiction that led to her demise. She was a fan of heroin, the drug that caused her to overdose in a Hollywood hotel when it was combined with alcohol she had consumed that evening.
Jim Morrison
Died: July 3, 1971
Impact on music:
    Morrison is quite simply one of the most iconic frontmen in rock history. His unique voice and songwriting ability, when coupled with his outlandish personality, made him one of the most interesting characters in the music industry. He is known to have inspired many rock vocalists such as Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Weiland and The Stroke’s Julian Casablancas.
Death:
    If you’re following the trend, you can probably guess that Morrison’s death was drug related, as well. The true account is shrouded in mystery, just like Hendrix, but reports say that it was most likely due to an accidental heroin overdose; he was found in the tub of his Paris apartment.

Kurt Cobain
Died: April 5, 1994
Impact on music:
    While Cobain’s initial inclusion on this list was controversial, his obvious impact in the music industry has led to his general acceptance in this club. His band, Nirvana, was the frontrunner of Seattle’s grunge movement. Their hard and in-your-face sound became one of the most important movements of alternative rock. He was an icon for Generation X and is known as one of the best songwriters of recent memory.
Death:
    While other musicians’ deaths on this list have been shrouded in mystery, none were more controversial than Cobain’s. To make a very long story as easy to follow as possible, Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home with a shotgun next to him, a suicide note and traces of drugs in his body. Other factors in Cobain’s life make many fans believe his wife, Courtney Love, actually murdered him and made it look like a suicide. Love has and will, most likely, always deny this allegation, which will keep this story one of the most controversial celebrity deaths.

Honorable Mentions
    Here are a few other notable musicians who died at 27, but didn’t quite reach the infamous status of the 27 Club.

Alan Wilson - Singer/songwriter of Canned Heat. Died of a drug overdose in 1970.
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan - Keyboardist and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Suffered a gastrointestinal hemorrhage in 1973 due to alcoholism.
Dave Alexander - Original bassist for The Stooges. Died of heart failure linked to alcoholism in 1975.
Jeremy Michael Ward - Sound technician for The Mars Volta. Died in 2003 from a heroin overdose.