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The Curse of the 27 Club

How Elvis Presley’s Grandson Benjamin Keough Suicide Emulates Kurt Cobain

By Rui AlvesPublished 3 years ago 15 min read
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Credit: graffiti in Tel Aviv

The grandson of Elvis Presley, Benjamin Storm Presley Keough, was laid to rest in the Meditation Garden at Graceland alongside his grandfather and family.

Mid-July, the death of Benjamin Keough, the 27-year-old son of Lisa Marie Presley and the grandson of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, was ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles County coroner.

“Benjamin Storm Presley Keough was laid to rest in the Meditation Garden at Graceland with his family including his grandfather, Elvis Presley, great-grandmother, Gladys Presley, great-grandfather, Vernon Presley and great-great-grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley,”

The 27-year-old son of Lisa Marie Presley died Sunday morning, July 12, 2020, at his family’s Calabasas, California, home from a self-inflicted “intraoral shotgun wound,” according to the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Benjamin had locked himself in a bathroom on the family luxury property in the early hours of Sunday. The 27-year-old’s lifeless body sagged on the toilet. Elvis was also found lying unconscious on the master suite bathroom floor, 43 years ago, on 16 August 1977.

Benjamin’s cause of death was an “Intraoral shotgun wound”.

Credits: Instagram

Kurt Cobain’s former home in Seattle had a greenhouse where he barricaded himself before his death. On the morning of April 8, an electrician found 27-year-old Cobain dead of an alleged suicide by gunshot to the head allegedly fired by a Remington 20-gauge shotgun found at the scene.

These young artists' deaths bear a striking resemblance as both were young celebrities aged 27 and died from a gunshot to the head before having barricaded themselves in a secluded place.

The curse of the 27 Club

The curse of the 27 Club is an urban legend in rock & roll history. The anathema of death at age 27 grabs the spotlight after Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994, as the media and fans explored the connections to Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, and Jimi Hendrix When Amy Winehouse passed away at age 27 in 2011.

Actual statistics show that the “27 Club” is nothing more than the substance of legend and an urban myth. In case you are a celebrity, don't worry; you are more likely to die at 56, from a merely statistical point of view.

“I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.” Kurt Cobain

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Identified members of the “27 Club.”

By Wikipedia :

· Dave Alexander | Pulmonary edema | Bassist for the Stooges

· Alexandra |Road accident German schlager vocalist

· Elizabeth "Bispy" Amirian | Murdered| Singer-songwriter

· Chris Austin | Plane crash | Country singer and guitarist

· Alexander Bashlachev | Fall from a height, probable suicide | Poet, rock musician

· Jean-Michel Basquiat | Drug overdose | Painter and graffiti artist

· Chris Bell Traffic collision (car) | Singer-songwriter and guitarist

· Jesse Belvin Traffic | collision (car) | R&B singer, pianist and songwriter

· Davor "Moskri" Bobić | Drug overdose | Rapper

· Nicole Bogner | Undisclosed illness | Singer for Visions of Atlantis

· D. Boon | Traffic collision (van) | Guitarist, lead singer

· Rodrigo Bueno | Traffic collision (car) | Cuarteto singer

· Cecilia | Traffic collision (car) | Singer

· Amar Singh Chamkila | Murdered | Singer, songwriter, musician, and composer

· Louis Chauvin | Neurosyphilitic sclerosis | Ragtime musician

· Arlester “Dyke” Christian | Murdered | Frontman, vocalist and bassist

· Kurt Cobain | Suicide by gunshot | Founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Nirvana

· Sahara Davenport | Heart failure | Drag queen, singer, television personality, and classically trained dancer

· Zenon De Fleur | Traffic collision (car) | Guitarist for the Count Bishops

· Pete de Freitas | Traffic collision (motorcycle) | Drummer for Echo & the Bunnymen

· Finbarr Donnelly | Drowning accident | Singer with Five Go Down to the Sea?

· Roger Lee Durham | Fell off a horse | Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone

· Richey Edwards | Disappeared; officially presumed dead | Lyricist and guitarist for Manic Street Preachers

· Valentín Elizalde | Murdered | Mexican band singer

· Henri Evenepoel | Typhus | Belgian Fauvism artist

· Soroush “Looloosh” Farazmand | Murdered | Guitarist of Iranian-American band The Yellow Dogs

· Thomas Fekete | Cancer | Guitarist for Surfer Blood

· Fredo Santana | Cardiovascular disease and idiopathic epilepsy | American rapper

· Jade Goody | Cervical cancer | Reality-television personality

· Orish Grinstead | Kidney failure | Founding member of the R&B group 702

· Slađa Guduraš | Road accident | Bosnian pop singer and actress

· Malcolm Hale | Poisoning (carbon monoxide) | Original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang

· Pete Ham | Suicide by hanging | Keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger

· Leslie Harvey | Electrocution | Guitarist for Stone the Crows and brother of Alex Harvey

· Joe Henderson | Heart attack | R&B and gospel singer

· Jimi Hendrix | Asphyxiation | Pioneering electric guitarist, singer, and songwriter

· Nat Jaffe | Complications from high blood pressure | Swing jazz pianist

· Robert Johnson | Unknown | Blues singer and musician

· Jonathan Brandis | Suicide by hanging | American actor

· Brian Jones | Drowned in a swimming pool | Rolling Stones co-founder

· Linda Jones | Complications from diabetes | Soul singer

· Kim Jong-hyun | Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning | Lead vocalist and lyricist for Shinee

· Janis Joplin | Drug overdose (probably heroin) | Lead vocalist and songwriter

· Kami | Subarachnoid hemorrhage | Drummer for Malice Mizer

· Helmut Köllen | Poisoning (carbon monoxide) | Bassist for 1970s prog rock band Triumvirat

· Alexandre Levy | Unknown | Composer, pianist and conductor 27 years

· Rudy Lewis | Drug overdose | Vocalist of the Drifters

· Tomas Lowe Road accident Bassist for Viola Beach

· Sean Patrick McCabe Asphyxiation Lead singer of Ink & Dagger

· Ron “Pigpen” McKernan | Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism | Founding member, keyboardist, and singer of the Grateful Dead

· Jacob Miller | Traffic collision (car) | Reggae artist and lead singer for Inner Circle

· Damien “Damo” Morris | Traffic collision (bus) | Member of Australian deathcore band The Red Shore

· Jim Morrison | Heart Failure | Singer, lyricist, and leader of the Doors

· Masako Natsume | Acute myeloid leukemia | Actress

· Nate Niec | Road accident | Bassist of numerous punk rock bands

· Bryan Ottoson | Drug overdose (prescription medication | Guitarist

· Fat Pat | Murdered | American rapper and member of Screwed Up Click

· Kristen Pfaff | Drug overdose (heroin) | Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe

· Dickie Pride | Drug overdose (sleeping pills) | Rock and roll singer

· Rockin’ Robin Roberts | Car crash | Original member and singer of The Fabulous Wailers

· Maria Serrano Serrano | Plane crash (Crossair Flight 3597) | Background singer for Passion Fruit

· Dash Snow | Drug overdose | Artist

· Achik Spin | Road accident | Member of the Malaysian pop group Spin

· Stretch | Murdered | Rapper

· Freaky Tah | Murdered American rapper and member of the hip hop group | Lost Boyz

· Lily Tembo | Gastritis | Zambian pop singer

· Gary Thain | Drug overdose (heroin) | Former bassist of Uriah Heep and the Keef Hartley Band

· Richard Turner | Cardiac arrest | Trumpet player, collaborator with Friendly Fires

· Dimitar Voev | Cancer | Poet, founder of the Bulgarian new wave band New Generation

· Jeremy Ward | Drug overdose (heroin) | The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator

· Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson | Drug overdose (barbiturate), possible suicide | Leader, singer of Canned Heat

· Amy Winehouse | Alcohol poisoning | Singer-songwriter

· Anton Yelchin | Accidental blunt traumatic | Actor, Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series, guitarist for The Hammerheads

· Wallace “Wally” Yohn | Plane crash | Organ player of Chase

· Mia Zapata | Murdered | Lead singer of the Gits

· Amar Singh Chamkila | Murdered | Singer, songwriter, musician, and composer

· Louis Chauvin | Neurosyphilitic sclerosis | Ragtime musician

· Arlester “Dyke” Christian | Murdered | Frontman, vocalist and bassist

· Kurt Cobain | Suicide by gunshot | Founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Nirvana

· Sahara Davenport | Heart failure | Drag queen, singer, television personality, and classically trained dancer

· Zenon De Fleur | Traffic collision (car) | Guitarist for the Count Bishops

· Pete de Freitas | Traffic collision (motorcycle) | Drummer for Echo & the Bunnymen

· Finbarr Donnelly | Drowning accident | Singer with Five Go Down to the Sea?

· Roger Lee Durham | Fell off a horse | Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone

· Richey Edwards | Disappeared; officially presumed dead | Lyricist and guitarist for Manic Street Preachers

· Valentín Elizalde | Murdered | Mexican band singer

· Henri Evenepoel | Typhus | Belgian Fauvism artist

· Soroush “Looloosh” Farazmand | Murdered | Guitarist of Iranian-American band The Yellow Dogs

· Thomas Fekete | Cancer | Guitarist for Surfer Blood

· Fredo Santana | Cardiovascular disease and idiopathic epilepsy | American rapper

· Jade Goody | Cervical cancer | Reality-television personality

· Orish Grinstead | Kidney failure | Founding member of the R&B group 702

· Slađa Guduraš | Road accident | Bosnian pop singer and actress

· Malcolm Hale | Poisoning (carbon monoxide) | Original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang

· Pete Ham | Suicide by hanging | Keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger

· Leslie Harvey | Electrocution | Guitarist for Stone the Crows and brother of Alex Harvey

· Joe Henderson | Heart attack | R&B and gospel singer

· Jimi Hendrix | Asphyxiation | Pioneering electric guitarist, singer, and songwriter

· Nat Jaffe | Complications from high blood pressure | Swing jazz pianist

· Robert Johnson | Unknown | Blues singer and musician

· Jonathan Brandis | Suicide by hanging | American actor

· Brian Jones | Drowned in a swimming pool | Rolling Stones co-founder

· Linda Jones | Complications from diabetes | Soul singer

· Kim Jong-hyun | Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning | Lead vocalist and lyricist for Shinee

· Janis Joplin | Drug overdose (probably heroin) | Lead vocalist and songwriter

· Kami | Subarachnoid hemorrhage | Drummer for Malice Mizer

· Helmut Köllen | Poisoning (carbon monoxide) | Bassist for 1970s prog rock band Triumvirat

· Alexandre Levy | Unknown | Composer, pianist and conductor 27 years

· Rudy Lewis | Drug overdose | Vocalist of the Drifters

· Tomas Lowe Road accident Bassist for Viola Beach

· Sean Patrick McCabe Asphyxiation Lead singer of Ink & Dagger

· Ron “Pigpen” McKernan | Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism | Founding member, keyboardist, and singer of the Grateful Dead

· Jacob Miller | Traffic collision (car) | Reggae artist and lead singer for Inner Circle

· Damien “Damo” Morris | Traffic collision (bus) | Member of Australian deathcore band The Red Shore

· Jim Morrison | Heart Failure | Singer, lyricist, and leader of the Doors

· Masako Natsume | Acute myeloid leukemia | Actress

· Nate Niec | Road accident | Bassist of numerous punk rock bands

· Bryan Ottoson | Drug overdose (prescription medication | Guitarist

· Fat Pat | Murdered | American rapper and member of Screwed Up Click

· Kristen Pfaff | Drug overdose (heroin) | Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe

· Dickie Pride | Drug overdose (sleeping pills) | Rock and roll singer

· Rockin’ Robin Roberts | Car crash | Original member and singer of The Fabulous Wailers

· Maria Serrano Serrano | Plane crash (Crossair Flight 3597) | Background singer for Passion Fruit

· Dash Snow | Drug overdose | Artist

· Achik Spin | Road accident | Member of the Malaysian pop group Spin

· Stretch | Murdered | Rapper

· Freaky Tah | Murdered American rapper and member of the hip hop group | Lost Boyz

· Lily Tembo | Gastritis | Zambian pop singer

· Gary Thain | Drug overdose (heroin) | Former bassist of Uriah Heep and the Keef Hartley Band

· Richard Turner | Cardiac arrest | Trumpet player, collaborator with Friendly Fires

· Dimitar Voev | Cancer | Poet, founder of the Bulgarian new wave band New Generation

· Jeremy Ward | Drug overdose (heroin) | The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator

· Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson | Drug overdose (barbiturate), possible suicide | Leader, singer of Canned Heat

· Amy Winehouse | Alcohol poisoning | Singer-songwriter

· Anton Yelchin | Accidental blunt traumatic | Actor, Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series, guitarist for The Hammerheads

· Wallace “Wally” Yohn | Plane crash | Organ player of Chase

· Mia Zapata | Murdered | Lead singer of the Gits

· Amar Singh Chamkila | Murdered | Singer, songwriter, musician, and composer

· Louis Chauvin | Neurosyphilitic sclerosis | Ragtime musician

· Arlester “Dyke” Christian | Murdered | Frontman, vocalist and bassist

· Kurt Cobain | Suicide by gunshot | Founding member, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Nirvana

· Sahara Davenport | Heart failure | Drag queen, singer, television personality, and classically trained dancer

· Zenon De Fleur | Traffic collision (car) | Guitarist for the Count Bishops

· Pete de Freitas | Traffic collision (motorcycle) | Drummer for Echo & the Bunnymen

· Finbarr Donnelly | Drowning accident | Singer with Five Go Down to the Sea?

· Roger Lee Durham | Fell off a horse | Singer and percussionist of Bloodstone

· Richey Edwards | Disappeared; officially presumed dead | Lyricist and guitarist for Manic Street Preachers

· Valentín Elizalde | Murdered | Mexican band singer

· Henri Evenepoel | Typhus | Belgian Fauvism artist

· Soroush “Looloosh” Farazmand | Murdered | Guitarist of Iranian-American band The Yellow Dogs

· Thomas Fekete | Cancer | Guitarist for Surfer Blood

· Fredo Santana | Cardiovascular disease and idiopathic epilepsy | American rapper

· Jade Goody | Cervical cancer | Reality-television personality

· Orish Grinstead | Kidney failure | Founding member of the R&B group 702

· Slađa Guduraš | Road accident | Bosnian pop singer and actress

· Malcolm Hale | Poisoning (carbon monoxide) | Original member and lead guitarist of Spanky and Our Gang

· Pete Ham | Suicide by hanging | Keyboardist and guitarist, leader of Badfinger

· Leslie Harvey | Electrocution | Guitarist for Stone the Crows and brother of Alex Harvey

· Joe Henderson | Heart attack | R&B and gospel singer

· Jimi Hendrix | Asphyxiation | Pioneering electric guitarist, singer, and songwriter

· Nat Jaffe | Complications from high blood pressure | Swing jazz pianist

· Robert Johnson | Unknown | Blues singer and musician

· Jonathan Brandis | Suicide by hanging | American actor

· Brian Jones | Drowned in a swimming pool | Rolling Stones co-founder

· Linda Jones | Complications from diabetes | Soul singer

· Kim Jong-hyun | Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning | Lead vocalist and lyricist for Shinee

· Janis Joplin | Drug overdose (probably heroin) | Lead vocalist and songwriter

· Kami | Subarachnoid hemorrhage | Drummer for Malice Mizer

· Helmut Köllen | Poisoning (carbon monoxide) | Bassist for 1970s prog rock band Triumvirat

· Alexandre Levy | Unknown | Composer, pianist and conductor 27 years

· Rudy Lewis | Drug overdose | Vocalist of the Drifters

· Tomas Lowe Road accident Bassist for Viola Beach

· Sean Patrick McCabe Asphyxiation Lead singer of Ink & Dagger

· Ron “Pigpen” McKernan | Gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism | Founding member, keyboardist, and singer of the Grateful Dead

· Jacob Miller | Traffic collision (car) | Reggae artist and lead singer for Inner Circle

· Damien “Damo” Morris | Traffic collision (bus) | Member of Australian deathcore band The Red Shore

· Jim Morrison | Heart Failure | Singer, lyricist, and leader of the Doors

· Masako Natsume | Acute myeloid leukemia | Actress

· Nate Niec | Road accident | Bassist of numerous punk rock bands

· Bryan Ottoson | Drug overdose (prescription medication | Guitarist

· Fat Pat | Murdered | American rapper and member of Screwed Up Click

· Kristen Pfaff | Drug overdose (heroin) | Bass guitarist for Hole and Janitor Joe

· Dickie Pride | Drug overdose (sleeping pills) | Rock and roll singer

· Rockin’ Robin Roberts | Car crash | Original member and singer of The Fabulous Wailers

· Maria Serrano Serrano | Plane crash (Crossair Flight 3597) | Background singer for Passion Fruit

· Dash Snow | Drug overdose | Artist

· Achik Spin | Road accident | Member of the Malaysian pop group Spin

· Stretch | Murdered | Rapper

· Freaky Tah | Murdered American rapper and member of the hip hop group | Lost Boyz

· Lily Tembo | Gastritis | Zambian pop singer

· Gary Thain | Drug overdose (heroin) | Former bassist of Uriah Heep and the Keef Hartley Band

· Richard Turner | Cardiac arrest | Trumpet player, collaborator with Friendly Fires

· Dimitar Voev | Cancer | Poet, founder of the Bulgarian new wave band New Generation

· Jeremy Ward | Drug overdose (heroin) | The Mars Volta and De Facto sound manipulator

· Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson | Drug overdose (barbiturate), possible suicide | Leader, singer of Canned Heat

· Amy Winehouse | Alcohol poisoning | Singer-songwriter

· Anton Yelchin | Accidental blunt traumatic | Actor, Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series, guitarist for The Hammerheads

· Wallace “Wally” Yohn | Plane crash | Organ player of Chase

· Mia Zapata | Murdered | Lead singer of the Gits

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About the Creator

Rui Alves

Hi, I'm Rui Alves, a teacher, army veteran & digital pathfinder. Author, alchemist of sound & Gen-AI artist.

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