Design Clint Fisher

The Rolling Stones, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Doors. Each band, legendary heavy-hitters that defined the music of the late 60's to the early 70's and arguably beyond...

Club 27 Originals

• Brian Jones
• Jimi Hendrix
• Janis Joplin
• Jim Morrison

Certainly a kick-ass list of musicians, and all original members of an unfortunate group, each of which died at the age of 27.

It started with Brian Jones, he was the first to die on July 3, 1969. Then came Jimi Hendrix on September 18, 1970. Following Jimi was Janis Joplin who passed a couple weeks later on October 4, 1970. Lastly, Mr Mojo Risin, Jim Morrison left us on July 3, 1971 sharing the same date as Brian Jones, only two years after.

Within the span of two years, four giants of Psychedelic Blues Rock & Roll had dropped like flies and starkly reminded us that youth does not equate with invincibility.

The list of members in Club 27 grew to include musicians long before this time, namely, legendary bluesman Robert Johnson in 1938, and post 1970 members included Alan Blind Owl Wilson of Canned Heat, Ron Pigpen McKernan of The Grateful Dead, and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Also, the list expanded to other art forms including painter, Jean-Michel Basquiat and poet Alexander Bashlachev. Unfortunately, this isn't the extent of the list, there are more. ¹

I was born few weeks after Janis died, November 15, 1970, to be exact. I was heavy into music at a very young age. My parents had a great vinyl collection, and I would spend hours pulling them all out, staring at the covers, examining the fold-outs, looking inside the sleeves for posters. The smell of those records was incredible. Sometimes I would take them up to my room, sit down with a pencil and my sketchbook, and draw entire album covers. I'd spend hours and hours on end studying them, occasionally bringing my drawings downstairs to show my parents.

This marriage of art and music became the foundation of my self expression. The music I heard inspired me and fueled my art. I had one overarching desire— to translate visually some semblance of what I was hearing with my ears, even a hint.

Art Direction & Design William S. Harvey

It was during this period that I was introduced to The Doors. Out of all the vinyl this one smelled the best. The cover was dark and eclectic, and seemed to pull me right into it. That's one of the things we've lost in this digital era. Music used to be tangible. There was a smell to it, the paper would become worn, corners would slightly round. It was a warm experience.

I entered the music of Club 27 through The Doors, next was Jimi Hendrix [There's not enough space in this article for me to talk about Jimi, trust me I could go on, and on, and on...] and the rest followed shortly after.

It wasn't until my 20's that I really started thinking more about the members of this list. What drew me in? With each of these musicians there was a seriousness, a weight, artists who took their craft and their talents with such vigor that they virtually exploded on the scene. Not only in performing, but in completely defining and redefining their instruments. Whether it was Jones' multi-instrumentalism, Jimi's guitar playing, Janis's voice, or Morrison's words. These were not just musicians. These were masters.

Jim Morrison said in reference to The Doors when being interviewed that Foremost, we're musicians and writers... ² It wasn't about being a band it was about pure art.

It's one thing to be born with talent, it’s quite another to push beyond it, shape, refine, and master it. This is a process that when lived out continuously with relentless fervor and standards so high—that they are nearly unreachable—causes incredible things to happen. Greatness happens; mediocrity be damned.

Every time I think about the members of Club 27, the same questions always come to mind.

Did they know?

This is probably the question I think about the most. Did they know their life was going to end so soon? A natural tendency is to take it easy, to kick back and take life one day at a time. With youth comes energy, but also at times a lack of focused concentration. And certainly thoughts of having a limited amount of time is not a youthful muse.

Being young is about exploration and self discovery, often with boldness and a desensitized awareness of fear. Time is a central theme of life and we've always been told You've got time.

As human beings we are bound by time, there is no escaping it, it's a natural law like gravity and hot girls getting stuff for free.

Was there something inside them that encouraged each of them on a daily basis, saying your time is limited, focus on your talents? Clearly, time was not on their side, However, something else obviously was. Something that transcended time.

Maybe it was the drugs or booze? Perhaps that played a part, but clearly a minor role; substances don't create amazing works of art, people do.

How is it that they were so prolific and influential, did they know that their work was going to inspire countless numbers of artists and music lovers throughout all time? The massive amounts of “new” material that is unearthed from them year to year is mind blowing. From shows to studio recordings and obscure bootlegs that existed in secret places of collectors' closets. Any new song—be it a demo, an outtake, a version—brings us that much closer to the artist and the work that inspires us.

Were these artists any different than us? What is it about them specifically? Can it be surmised that hard work is all it takes? Did risk play a part in their success?

Just think for a minute what it would have been like if each of them had taken up a day job and made something of their lives. Thank God that didn't happen. Each of them were true to their calling as artists, they pursued their art passionately. Plunging themselves head first, sometimes with wreckless abandon into the abyss of creativity, finding their unique place of freedom and self expression.

If there was some kind of voice inside them, is it also in us? Is it encouraging us to pursue what we've been given with fervor? If so, are we listening, or are distractions getting in our way? Are the pressures of getting a real job mounting, or are we saying to ourselves that we have all the time in the world to do what we want? If there's anything that the members of Club 27 are telling us, it's certainly not, Kick back and relax.

They are calling us to be who we are, to really and truly live our dreams, to pour out everything that is within us as an offering to our audience, and to continue to do so until our very last breath.