The age 27 curse.
The holy trinity who came to prominence during the Summer of Love in 1967 —- Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix —- all died at that age.
So too did Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones back in 1969.
Then there was Curt Cobain in 1994.
Now singer Amy Winehouse dies at the same age.
It’s like the Kennedy curse. Only musical.
Winehouse’s parents said a while back that it was just a matter of time for her.
Her death didn’t really come as a shock to anybody. In retrospect, the same could have been said about Morrison, who was a human garbage disposal. Hendrix probably came as a surprise. Joplin as well.
“Live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse” said the character Nick Romano in the Humphrey Bogart crime drama “Knock on Any Door” from way, way back in 1949.
Ok, you die young but there’s no way a corpse can be good looking. Still, don’t we always say he or she “looks good” when we pay our last visit to them at the funeral parlor?
There’s that whole immortality thing going for celebrities who die young because, duh!, they’ll never age for as long as they’re remembered.
The age 27 curse certainly doesn’t seem to be a coincidence. It’s like when famous people die in the same week the deaths always seem to come in threes.
So who’s going to join Amy getting a visit from the Grim Reaper this week?
Who is 27 and a drug and alcohol addict?
The deaths come in threes theory hardly ever finds three in the same age group.
Remains to be seen if Winehouse will become her generation’s Janis Joplin. Unfortunately, she’ll probably be remembered more for her addiction. Her biggest hit was “Rehab.”
Cobain has never been compared to any musician from the 1960s because he was a forerunner of a rock movement of its own.
He loses points for being married to Courtney Love, who still can’t shake being known for anything more than the Yoko Ono of her generation.
Winehouse’s death certainly won’t have Don McLean coming out of retirement to sing “the day the music died.”
And Elton John won’t belt out a new version of “Candle in the Wind” at her funeral. At least let’s hope not.
Let’s not forget the cover of The Beatles “Abbey Road” with the VW parked to the left of our heroes crossing the street. The license plate reads 28IF. Those who believed The Beatles were sending messages thought Paul was dead and “28IF” stood for Paul would’ve been 28 if…
Which means he “died” when he was, you guessed it, 27.
Feel like a number anyone?
