analysis the artists who died at the age of 27

 analysis the artists who died at the age of 27

Americans have used songs and music to exercise their rights and freedom of speech as provided for in the constitution. Through music, they have been able to draw attention to critical areas in society and called out on authority for any policies they deem as derogative and in violation of individual rights and privileges. Additionally, Americans have also demonstrated their unwavering nationalism and support of the government and its policies through music. As such, music is instrumental as an avenue of mass mobilization, and the messages conveyed in songs, have within them the ability to provoke feelings and emotions in support or to criticize social, political and economic policies. Music creates a deep sense of power and superiority to both the artists and the listeners who then act upon such forces through the messages relayed in the songs. Musicians can mobilize their listeners in whatever ways they or those around them deem fit. Whereas some of the messages are positive and well informed, a good number of songs have misleading and sometimes morally unfit messages that promote specific high-risk behavior among their listeners (Ali and Zehra, 2006).

Statement of the research problem

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the artists who died at the age of 27 and highlight whether they created relative music before their death or it is through their deaths that they garnered fame and popularity. Whereas there is no specific age that is suitable for the death of any individual, the 27 Club composes of artists who lost their lives at the age of 27, mainly from drug-related activities. Given their influence over the masses, the behavior and conduct of these artists were subject to scrutiny from the press and tabloids who reported on each and everything the artists did. Their social lives, families, sexual habits, and nightlife were all printed out in the press or announced on public media as part of the entertainment news segment. As such, it was the activities of the artists that got the majority of the airplay as opposed to who or what the artists stood for. In no small number, any publicity was good publicity, and they strove to appear in the news on periods preceding the release of new material (Dewan and Ramaprasad, 2014). While their deaths at a young age cut illustrious short careers, this essay seeks to analyze whether these artists had an impact in society before their deaths or they were elevated to stardom following their deaths.

Any instances of death elicit mixed feelings from those left behind. Some mourn and are inconsolable to the loss of their loved ones; others take demise as an opportunity to celebrate the life and achievements of the departed. Such a reaction to death is no different from what happens after the passing of a musician. As they are mourned, they are also celebrated in equal measure. Artists who died at the age of 27 have over time being held in high regard, and their status safeguarded in history. Their deaths resulted in a cultural phenomenon celebrating their deaths and achievements in the music industry. The popularity of the 27 Club is such that younger artists are at a higher risk of succumbing to the excesses of the industry at a younger age in comparison to older artists of young people in different career paths (Wolkewitz et al., 2011).

The 60s was a period in the United States that marked a great deal of social change, and anyone with a voice was not afraid to let it heard. Mainly, issues regarding race and gender were a cause of great debate owing to the marginalization and discrimination members from these groups faced. Right in the middle of this racial tussle was guitarist and rock singer, Jimi Hendrix. While the white majority despised and looked down upon people of African descent, Hendrix offered a sharp contradiction in that he was highly adored by the crowd of white young adults who were hungry for this genre of music referred to as rock (Mahon, 2004). In his lifetime, Hendrix managed to create relative music. This is evident from the manner in which he went about his business as both songwriter and singer with various bands he managed to front. The music scene in the 60s was expressionist in nature in that artists exercised their freedom of speech in ways never seen before. In this regard, Hendrix managed to have tours within and outside America, bringing him in contact with others who were of a similar opinion regarding socio-political issues. It culminated in him headlining the Woodstock music festival of 1969 that was a gathering of people voicing the message of change and social liberation (Moskowitz, 2010).

Through his music, Hendrix was able to bridge the racial and social divide that had plagued the United States. From an early age, he had the crossover appeal, which made him relatable across all races and was able to create music inspired by different cultural backgrounds. All of this Hendrix managed to achieve before his untimely death at the age of 27. While his career was short-lived, he had attained a tremendous level of success, on and off stage. Through his music, he captured the struggles people had to endure, especially Africans Americans, in their quest to fit and express themselves in society. The final album before his death, Electric Ladyland, signified his gift as a musician. In it, Hendrix demonstrated his abilities to tackle radical topics in society (Perry, 2004). The album was the culmination of the groundbreaking psychedelic movements of the 60s that emphasized on expression.

Additionally, his music was the innovative fusion of blues, jazz, and other aspects of black music to a broader audience. As such, the popularity and fame attached to Jimi Hendrix were because of his abilities as a musician and not because of his untimely death. While his death did give him mileage, it was not responsible for his contributions to music and the provisions of freedom of expression.

Kurt Cobain and Nirvana are regarded as the pioneers of the grunge movement. What began as an underground avenue for free speech and expression grew to become one of the most influential revolutions of the 90S. It was an avenue through which the youth could express themselves without having to conform to societal norms and pressures. Kurt Cobain was the voice of this movement and enjoyed success in his music career owing to the appeal he had among the youth and adolescents in America. His song, Smells Like Teen Spirit, was an anthem in the grunge movement that instilled ideals desirable among his audience (Goldberg, 2019). Not only did the campaign serve as a social expression, but it also witnessed drastic changes in the art scene to signify distortion and breaking away from mainstream art. The movement was about establishing a new order most suitable for youth and adolescents.

Kurt Cobain transformed the movement and exposed it to a broad audience through his music. Through his band, Nirvana, he enjoyed mainstream success, won awards and accolades while his music had a record number of sales. While enjoying almost cultic following, Cobain was able to transcend the bounds of limitation and expressed himself in the best way he could. His music may not have any essential messages; it possessed the charisma and feel that made it popular among its listeners. Through his music, generation X was able to showcase its voice and culture by denouncing the societal norms and expectations around. Following his death in 1994, the fire and influence of the grunge movement seemed to die along with him. With their de facto leader and voice taken away from them, generation X was left with no significant direction. Coincidentally, his death marked the end of Nirvana as it got disbanded, and members went on to pursue their projects. The music success the band enjoyed after the death of Kurt Cobain cannot be compared to the impact he had on their music while he was alive. Nonetheless, the band’s previous releases still got airplay, albeit not in the pomp and heights it did during the life of Kurt Cobain. As such, Kurt Cobain curved his musical success while he was alive more than after his death.

Jim Morrison took advantage of the radical social and political climate of the 60s and composed music that was critical governmental policies. Additionally, he invested time in tackling the issue of free speech and expression through the hippie movement sweeping across the United States. He defined statesmanship and appearance on stage through suggestive actions that rebelled against established authority. Through these activities, he was arrested and convicted on several occasions on charges of indecent exposure. In his defense, he argued he was exercising his rights and freedom of expression in the best way he could. Not only did he incorporate his messages in his performance with his band, The Doors, but he also penned down provocative records. The album LA Woman released in 1971 was recorded at such a time when their music had been blacklisted owing to the messages therein and Morrison’s run-ins with the law. In the album, the group maintained their musical identity influenced by the words of Jim Morrison (Riordan and Prochnicky, 2006). They managed to bring out their messages in a simple way, which helped them reclaim chart success upon its release.

Through music, Jim Morrison fast established himself as the face and voice of the disillusioned youth who dared to defy authority and break social divides through music and love (Davis, 2004). Jim Morrison was critical of the government’s involvement in the Vietnam War and expressed his views in song and music that his followers and listeners borrowed heavily from. He was critical of government policies, and he shared this message in his songs (Fong-Toress, 2006). The song Unknown Soldier mainly was critical of the government’s involvement in the Vietnam War, citing the heavy human casualties it had on American soldiers. The song also took on the media and how it was continually reporting on the war so that ordinary news items were replaced with news about deaths, gunshots, injuries, and other war content that was damaging to the lives of the American citizens. He argued that people at home were as much devastated by the war efforts as the soldiers in combat.

His untimely death was met with grief among his listeners, and as people tried to investigate the circumstances that lead to his death, they unraveled his books and poems that had been relatively unknown to the public. Through this scrutiny, people got a glimpse of a man deeply troubled by what was around him and had resorted to using whatever means possible to speak his mind. Despite some of his writings being explicit, they ushered the society into the dawn of expression, where the Americans exercised their freedom of speech to the maximum. As a voice of dissent, he took on politics and while engaging social vices so that he could stretch the limits of freedom among the Americans. His untimely death notwithstanding, Jim Morrison established himself as an essential member of American music, taking on the authority for their flawed policies through songs. Despite him dying at a relatively young age, the contributions he made to music cannot be taken away from him. He managed consistent music success in his lifetime and set the pace for other musicians to artistically express themselves freely without fear of arrest or conviction.

In the course of her life, Amy Winehouse was subjected to extreme social conditions from a young that vastly influenced the course of her life and music altogether. Not only was she exposed to the turbulent marriage between her parents, but she also got to live through their split, which left a lasting impression on her life at the tender age of nine years. The lack of a figure of authority and her conceptions on what such kind of influence does push her to the confines of drugs and alcohol that went ahead to form part of her life as well as music identity (Glyde, 2015). As a readily available, caregiver, drugs, and alcohol worked to give her the assurances and comfort in life that the family institution could not provide. Whereas the drugs were an addiction, she was introduced to prescription medication on the advice of healthcare providers who, after reviewing her mental condition after her parents’ split, put her on antidepressants. As such, the role of men in her life influenced her music to a large extent. In her debut album, Frank, she lays bare into the full length of men in society and how they have managed to behave contrary to expectations. Despite taking a swipe at past relationships with men and how they failed to live up to expectation, she acknowledges the need to have stronger men in her life and those around them to act as pillars and role models. The album won her accolades, and critics were quick to point out her poetic and music talent (Perlich, 2008).

Her turbulent relationship with authority and management is laid to bear in her subsequent records. Her second and final studio album, Back to Black she highlighted how the figures of power in her life influenced her to resent and offer resistance in her music and lifestyle. While her debut album propelled her to stardom and success, the follow-up album cemented her as one of the most prominent artists from the United Kingdom. The album is an emotional, honest, and poignant composition of a woman let down by those meant to protect her. It is no wonder she approached their actions with high suspicion. In the album, one of the most successful songs was the first single, Rehab. Here, she highlights how she fought off the efforts of both her father and her management to take her to rehab. In the song, she alludes that saying no to rehab was from the knowledge that she was doing fine without authority, drugs made her well, and she did not intend on putting her well being in jeopardy. While the message might be misleading in the sense rehabilitation centers, make people get over their addictions, her desire to reject authority meant that she was willing to take her messages to the most extreme of cases. Nonetheless, the album won her accolades, including five Grammy Awards, and went ahead to become one of the best selling albums in the United Kingdom (Partridge, 2016).

The journey she took with her association with drugs and alcohol plagued her career, and she tragically died from alcohol poisoning at the tender age of 27. It was a time when there were massive expectations from critics, fans, and music followers, all who anticipated the release of more content from the singer. As a notable poet and songwriter, her music spoke to people who found themselves in almost similar positions. Whereas she was a British singer, her influence in America was tremendous in that she enjoyed music success and went ahead to receive some of the highest music awards and accolades the country had to offer. She took to music to address the social issues that affected her most while pointing out the parties responsible. Her courage to express herself and also to give alternative behavior from the figures of authority presents her as a person with a broad perspective of life only that circumstances forced her to pursue different paths. Through her music, she tackled the issue of marital breakups and their effect on third parties. Amy Winehouse did not run away from the harsh realities of life; she took on them headfirst and paid the ultimate price. In as much as death robbed the industry of one of the brightest and prosperous musicians, it also highlighted common core areas that ought to be addressed. It is surprising that in her music career, she only managed two studio albums, yet her success speaks volumes.

Robert Johnson, who died at the age of 27 in 1938, presents us with the earliest known musician who died at the age of 27 in modern history, having enjoyed relative music success. Notable with African-American musicians at the turn of the 20th century, blues was the most desired genre of music in that it incorporates the religious harmony in African- American churches with the everyday events in their way of life. In this regard, Robert Johnson is accredited to have pushed the boundaries of blues, thus ushering it to a much broader audience and artists who wanted to play and enjoy relative success like he did (Komara, 2007). His music bespoke of a visionary artist with deep and emotional songs who brought the blues music to a broader audience and influenced others to take after him, regardless of gender or racial background (Havers, 2018). While the mystery surrounding his death provoked studies into his life, it did not influence his music success in society. Instead, it provided a spotlight to his contributions to music in a community deeply divided along racial lines. His success enabled him to push for the agenda of African Americans as equal contributors to the socio-economic aspects of the United States. Through his music, he demonstrated that anyone could make a difference in society.

Finally, the contributions of artists and musicians to the socio-political scene in the United States was significant when they were alive than after their respective deaths. In as much as death exposed them to a broader audience and assists in analyzing their impact on society, it does not provide them success or popularity. To an extent, death enabled us to analyze their impact and progress made in their respective audiences by having us wonder what they could have achieved had they lived a little while longer.

While addressing the cultural significance or lack thereof regarding The 27 Club, the notion around early death and music success is created on the basis of how artists faired before and after their untimely deaths. The 27 Club while being a cultural phenomenon, it cannot be used to measure the success of a musician given that none of the artists who died at this age predicted to die at the time they did and the exact manner. As such, it is not a measure of success. The factors that contribute to the success of a musician cannot include the age at which the said artist died or the circumstances leading to his or her death.