Call it an enigma. Call it a curse.
Call it one of the most fascinating coincidences in modern history.
Either way, once you hear it, you’ll never forget:

More famous musicians have died at age 27 than any other age.

But this is not about their deaths. Not at all.
It’s about their lives. It’s about their impact. It’s about the tremendous body of work they created in 27 years. 

The roll call reads like a Hall of Fame induction ceremony:
Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones...

Yet, any attempt to look at one of pop culture’s greatest phenomena through the lens of only its most famous would ignore too many stellar musicians and their gripping stories lurking in the background.

Each of these artists contributed to modern music, pioneering musical genres. They also lived and shared artistic expressions and human experiences that are both compelling stories in their own right and make the overall story of the The 27s so incredible.

From a pact with the devil, to the harrowing story of a nefarious manager who stole the fortune and lives of its stars, The 27s is a story of archetypes and destruction; shooting stars and penultimate creation. It’s more than one hundred years in the making with no end in sight.

The 27s hail from bands such as The Doors, the Stooges, Badfinger, Echo & the Bunnymen, Manic Street Preachers, Grateful Dead, Mars Volta, Big Star, Canned Heat, The Gits, Minutemen—and many more.

The songs, the stories, and the icons, married to the music like never before. All of these artists still represent massive cultural cachets that are current, relevant, along with tens of millions of downloads and album sales worldwide. They matter. They always have and they always will.

The 27s celebrates the lives and legacies of the remarkable 27s artists rather than focusing on the details or circumstances surrounding their deaths.

THE ROOTS OF THIS PROJECT GOES BACK 15+ YEARS

In 2008, Josh Hunter & Eric Segalstad published The 27s—The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll, the first and definite creative work on the subject. The 312-page illustrated book weaves together the stories of The 27s into a fascinating and surprisingly complete retelling of the history of modern music and its various sub-genres. The 27s won an Independent Publisher Award following its release. The book is currently out of print and has become a cult classic, commanding a premium on the used market.