With the anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death on April 5, it’s interesting to recognize the vast number of musicians who died at the same age as Cobain, 27.

While countless artists have been noted to die around age 27, the five most influential musicians have impacted music even today. Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and the original Rolling Stones member Brian Jones are the five musicians that make up the legendary club “Forever 27.”

This famous club is regarded with superstition by musicians as including the most important musicians who died under mysterious circumstances.

Both Joplin and Morrison died under probable drug causes, but there was no investigation to follow up on their deaths. Found dead, the circumstances leading up to their deaths remain a mystery even today.

Later, Cobain died by suicide, but his rocky relationship with Courtney Love raised questions. Before this, Hendrix asphyxiated on his own vomit, and Jones “drowned” in a swimming pool.

Following the light

These mysterious deaths are closely linked to the superstition that white lighters are bad luck, as four out of the five members of the 27 Club were said to be carrying a white lighter when they died.

Cobain was also rumored to be nervous about turning 27 because of the deaths of the four other artists.

I’ll cover you

Many seem to question whether these artists’ early deaths made their influence greater than if they had lived on. However, nothing can show greater influence than the number of cover songs available on iTunes that were originally performed by these five artists.

From Jones’ death in 1969 to Cobain’s death in 1994, these artists and their “club” are still influencing the way we look at rock music today. With new emerging bands and techno lifestyles, people of all ages are still rocking out to tracks such as “Purple Haze” by Hendrix, which is used in a Pepsi Cola commercial.

Andrew Zeevi, a junior actuarial science major, explains that all genres of music have been influenced by at least one of these artists.

“Whether the progression of the California music scene … the grunge scene, or music anywhere … no one can say these artists didn’t influence them, even just a little,” Zeevi said.

Direct impact

The consensus remains the same; whether they had lived on or died before the age of 27, they would still have had an impact on the musical world.

One needs to only watch Hendrix’ performance at Woodstock to realize why he is still Rolling Stone Magazine’s No. 1 greatest guitarist out of 100 year after year.

Morrison’s legendary performances are still being made into movies, with an upcoming documentary coming out this year. Geoffrey Weinberg, a freshman philosophy, politics and law major, explains that these musicians brought life into their music.

“They weren’t just on stage to make money like bands are today. They were there to get into the music and play it like they meant it,” said Weinberg.

When comparing musicians from past to present, these five musicians are the ones that critics everywhere enjoy. Morrison, Joplin, Jones, Cobain and Hendrix were influential artists that defied the status quo of rock n’ roll in their short lifetime.

Joplin challenged the female stereotype, and Morrison was willing to reveal himself on stage. Hendrix lit his guitar on fire while Cobain brought all of his emotions to the stage. And Jones was part of one of the most influential bands in history, The Rolling Stones, which is still popular.

It seems that Joplin summed it up for all five in the band after a show in Paris, France: “Being an intellectual creates a lot of questions and no answers. You can fill your life up with ideas and still go home lonely. All you really have that really matters are feelings. That’s what music is to me.”

So although these artists’ lives were cut short, they lived them to the fullest, exceeding their potential. They poured their hearts and souls into their music, which is the reason it still lives on.