Twenty Seven Years

Left to right: Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse. By Psychology Forever - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Introduction

My friend Mariann asked me why I had not written about music in my Vocal Time Capsule Haiku Challenge Entry that you can read below (it also has a link to the challenge which will include at the end of this story).

That inspired me to write this haiku, which refers to the "27 Club" the artists who died when they were 27 years old, and there are so many that it is often referred to. We will start with the haiku and then follow it with the playlist and I am not sure whether this should go in the Poets or Beat communities, maybe the latter, though that may get it disqualified from the challenge, but, to me, this is important to keep as a complete entity.

Here is the Wikipedia entry on the 27 Club

Twenty Seven Years Of Song

💔🎵🎼 🎸🎤🎵💔

Their Summer Gave Us

Unforgettable Music

But They Left Us Far Too Soon

💔🎵🎼 🎸🎤🎵💔

And now here is the music that they left us with.

Brian Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969)

At around midnight on the night of 2–3 July 1969, Jones was discovered motionless at the bottom of his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm.

It is reported that he came up with the melody for The Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" but we will go with him playing sitar on "Paint It Black" which is appropriate for this playlist.

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970)

The inquest on September 28th concluded that Hendrix aspirated his own vomit and died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates.

If I could only ever listen to one song for the rest of my life it would be this, combining Bob Dylan's songwriting and lyrics and Hendrix's voice, guitar playing back by Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell (making up The Experience).

I love this quote attributed to Hendrix.

“When the power of love is greater than the love of power, there will be peace.”

Janis Joplin(January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970)

Peggy Caserta has insisted that Joplin's death was not an accidental overdose, but rather a result of a head gash suffered after the "hourglass heel" of her slingback sandal caught in the shag carpet, causing her to lose her balance. Caserta does concede, however, that drugs and/or alcohol may have played a role in hastening her death that night

This is often the first song that people associate with Janis. The single was unaccompanied but this live version has a band behind her and both versions are wonderful. Another who left us too soon.

Jim Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971)

On July 3, 1971, Morrison was found dead in the bathtub of a Paris apartment at approximately 6:00 a.m. He was 27 years old. The official cause of death was listed as heart failure, although no autopsy was performed as it was not required by French law.

The song "LA Woman" contains the line "Mr Mojo Risin' " which of course is an anagram of his name, and is seven minutes of brilliant, driving, relentless rock.

Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938)

Johnson died on August 16, 1938, at the age of 27, near Greenwood, Mississippi, of unknown causes. Johnson's death was not reported publicly. It is likely he had congenital syphilis and it was suspected later by medical professionals that this may have been a contributing factor in his death.

Johnson reputedly sold his soul to the Devil at a crossroads (just watched a "Supernatural" episode that referenced this) and the "Hellhound On My My Trail" of the song may be coming for his soul.

Jean-Michel Basquiat (December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988)

Basquiat died at the age of 27 of a heroin overdose at his home on Great Jones Street in Manhattan on August 12, 1988

He was an artist so have just included a documentary about his work.

Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994)

Cobain's body was discovered at his Lake Washington Boulevard home by electrician Gary Smith. A suicide note was found, and a high concentration of heroin and traces of diazepam were also found in his body.

What can I say, there are so many songs I could have chosen, but "All Apologies" is a beautiful way to remember Kurt Cobain.

Amy Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011)

A coroner's inquest reached a verdict of misadventure. The report released on 26 October 2011 explained that Winehouse's blood alcohol content was 416 mg per 100 ml (0.416%) at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit.[260] According to the coroner, "The unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden death"

Again, like with so many of these artists, there are so many great songs to choose from so I have chosen "Tears Dry On Their Own"

Conclusion

I have said very little about all these artists but hope that this piece has interested you. The 27 Ckub is just a strange coincidence that so many great artists have died at that age, I may have missed some, and maybe my haiku has got lost in all this, but we shall see.

This is the challenge that this piece is being entered into.