Musicians who died at the age of 27

Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter known for her deep vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul. Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011 at age 27. Her album Back to Black posthumously became the UK's best-selling album of the 21st century, at that point.[13] In 2012, Winehouse was ranked 26th on VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music.[14] The BBC has called her "the pre-eminent vocal talent of her generation."

James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American singer, songwriter and poet best remembered as the lead singer of The Doors. Morrison developed an alcohol dependency. He died at the age of 27 in Paris, probably of an accidental heroin overdose. No autopsy was performed, and the exact cause of Morrison's death is still disputed. Jim Morrison's grave is located at Père Lachaise cemetery in eastern Paris

Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer-songwriter who first rose to fame in the late 1960s as the lead singer of the psychedelic/acid rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist with her own backing groups, The Kozmic Blues Band and The Full Tilt Boogie Band. Joplin was well known for her performing ability and was a multi instrumentalist. Her fans referred to her stage presence as "electric"; at the height of her career, she was known as "The Queen of Psychedelic Soul". Known as "Pearl" among her friends, she was also a painter, dancer and music arranger. Rolling Stone ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004 and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Peter William Ham was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist, primarily recognized for having been the lead singer/composer of the '70s rock group Badfinger's hit songs, "No Matter What", "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue." He also co-wrote the ballad "Without You", a worldwide Number One hit for Harry Nilsson and it has become a standard song as covered by hundreds of artists consistently throughout the years since. Ham was granted two Ivor Novello Awards related to the song in 1973. Ham committed suicide in 1975 as a result of band-related issues such as label and manager problems, as well as lack of funds.

Christopher Branford "Chris" Bell (January 12, 1951 – December 27, 1978) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist born in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star, which recorded albums during the early 1970s. Bell died on December 27, 1978 at the age of 27 when he lost control of his small Triumph TR-7 sports car, sometime after 1 a.m. He was on his way home from a band rehearsal. The car struck a wooden light pole on the side of the road. The pole fell and killed him instantly. His death at the age of 27 earned him a place in the infamous 27 Club. His funeral was held the next day, December 28, the birthday of former band mate Alex Chilton.

Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of the American rock band Nirvana, was found dead at his home— located at 171 Lake Washington Boulevard East in Seattle, Washington, on April 8, 1994. Forensic analysis determined that he had committed suicide three days prior on April 5. The Seattle Police Department incident report states: "Kurt Cobain was found with a shotgun across his body, had a visible head wound and there was a suicide note discovered nearby." The King County Medical Examiner noted puncture wounds on the inside of both the right and left elbow. Prior to his death, Cobain had checked out of a drug rehabilitation facility and had been reported as suicidal by his wife Courtney Love.

Dennes Dale "D." Boon, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Active between 1978, when he joined The Reactionaries, and 1985, when he was killed in a van accident, Boon was best known as the guitarist and vocalist of the Californian punk rock trio Minutemen. The Minutemen continued until December 22, 1985, when Boon was killed in a van accident in the Arizona desert on Interstate 10.Because he had been sick with fever, Boon was lying down in the rear of the van without a seatbelt when the van ran off the road. Boon was thrown out the back door of the van and died instantly from a broken neck. He was 27 years old. The band immediately dissolved, though Watt and Hurley would form the band fIREHOSE soon after. The live album Ballot Result was released in 1987, two years after Boon's death.

Jones was born in the Park Nursing Home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on 28 February 1942. An attack of croup at the age of four left him with asthma, which lasted for the rest of his life. His middle-class parents, Lewis Blount Jones and Louisa Beatrice Jones (née Simmonds) were of Welsh descent. 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. His Swedish girlfriend, Anna Wohlin, was convinced Jones was alive when he was taken out of the pool insisting he still had a pulse. However, by the time the doctors arrived it was too late and he was pronounced dead. The coroner's report stated "death by misadventure" and noted his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse.

Richard James Edwards (born 22 December 1967, disappeared c. 1 February 1995, officially presumed dead 23 November 2008) was a Welsh musician who was lyricist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He was known for his politicised and intellectual songwriting which, combined with an enigmatic and eloquent character, has assured him cult status, and he is frequently cited as one of the best lyricists of all time. Edwards disappeared on 1 February 1995. He was declared presumed deceased in November 2008. The ninth album by Manic Street Preachers, Journal for Plague Lovers, which was released on 18 May 2009, is composed entirely of lyrics left behind by Edwards.

David Michael Alexander was an American musician, best known as the original bassist for influential protopunk band The Stooges. He died of pulmonary edema in 1975 at the age of 27 in Ann Arbor after being admitted to a hospital for pancreatitis, which was linked to his drinking.