July 3rd: The “27 Club” Adds Two Members
July 3rd was a bad day to be a Rock star.
1969 – Brian Jones, ex-Rolling Stones guitarist, was found dead in his swimming pool. Death was ruled a misadventure while under the influence of alcohol and drugs. However, murder rumors circulated.
Jones had recently been fired from the Stones due to excessive drug use and a deep reluctance to touring.
1971 – Break on through (to the other side). The Doors’ vocalist Jim Morrison was found dead by longtime companion Pam Courson in the bathtub of the Paris apartment they shared. Morrison had gone to Paris to escape fame and focus on his poetry. Though the cause of death was officially listed as a heart attack there are indications that drugs (most likely heroin) led to the singer’s demise.
Morrison’s death, following the passings of Jones, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, launches talk of the “27 Club” since all four were twenty-seven years old when they died. Decades later, Kurt Cobain would ‘join’ the club (on 4/5/94).
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