Janis Joplin
27 Club. It seems we need myths. Because we are “meaning-creating machines”, that is what we do as human beings.
Most readers will already know what the ’27 Club’. But for those who are not yet familiar with the subject, it is now.
This expression appeared just over 50 years ago, when only between 1969 and 1971 died Brian Jones (he was one of the members of the Rolling Strones), Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin e Jim Morrison (The Doors).
They were all very well-known musicians, they were all died when they were 27 years old.
Another “curse” also emerged during this period: Brian Jones died on July 3, 1969; Jim Morrison died on July 3, 1971. Exactly two years between the first and last case.
And we could even talk about a kind of ‘J Club’: Jones, Jimi, Janis Joplin, Jim.
But returning to the age of 27, decades later Kurt Cobain e Amy Winehouse joined this unwanted club. They also died when they were 27 years old, they were also musicians followed by millions and millions of people.
It is true that all these musicians died at the age of 27. But it is also true that many (even many more) musicians died at another age.
E we don’t talk about them.
Why?
Firstly, because that group was very strong and it happened in a short time. Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison – all “rock stars”, all icons of that era hippiefigures of the counterculture movement that emerged in the 1960s. In just two years, they all died (apart from the less popular Alan Wilson of Canned Heat, who died in 1970). And, as everyone was 27 years old, it remained in their memory.
But there is more: it seems that we need myths. Why “it can’t be a coincidence!”.
One published this week talks about the “dependence” that we have in relation to destiny, to stigmergy; and how this was essential in the formation of the 27 Club myth.
This analysis shows how a mito, a belief or narrative – with a limited factual basis – can be formed in a relatively short period of time and have real cultural consequences.
Cultural trajectories are subject to unlikely events and therefore may be impossible to predict.
Sociologist Zackary Dunivin explains what many already think: we pay more attention to people who die at age 27 because of this “club”. And then the narrative is created that even more famous musicians die at this age; This narrative becomes more famous, more strengthened, over the years.
Even those who have never heard of the 27 Club, “find more famous people who died at the age of 27”, comments Dunivin on the portal.
“We made this myth seem true because It is a real feeling that more people die at the age of 27” – the feeling, not the statistics. Because if we made a list of all the famous musicians who have died throughout history… Let’s go.
The expert adds: “We are meaning-making machines – that’s what we do as human beings. We look at this and say ‘It can’t be a coincidence!’”.
But it is unlikely what is repeat the death of such a famous quartet of musicians in just two years, as happened between 1969 and 1971. In fact, it is really very unlikely: the study estimates the probability of 1 in 100,000 of this happening.
That was indeed a “truly strange” sequenceadmits the sociologist; But even more surprising must have been the impact – in the real world – on the legacy of famous people, especially musicians, who later died at the age of 27.
It is in fact a myth
We recently warned that if we made a list of all the famous musicians who have died throughout history, we would see the result.
The study authors did just that. They analyzed almost 350 thousand famous people who were born in the last century and who died until 2015; and this statistic confirmed that the risk of death does not increase when you are 27 years old.
The only thing that increased it was… the popularity. A famous person who died at the age of 27 was much more talked about because of it.
This phenomenon is real: talk more about those who die at 27. What we forget is those who died at any other age.
And so a myth is created.
