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27 Club

Stories about musical icons who died at the age of 27.

65 Episodes
Publishes Every Thursday

Articles

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan Episode 2: A Life-Changing Car Crash, Mind Experiments, and Hanging onto the Blues

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan Episode 2: A Life-Changing Car Crash, Mind Experiments, and Hanging onto the Blues

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan could already feel his influence in the band waning from early on. Even back when the Grateful Dead were still known as the Warlocks. Whereas Pig subsisted on raw power fueled by alcohol and blues music, the rest of the members of the band were functioning on a completely different level. They listened to music, talked literature, and explored the cosmos...while loaded to the gills on LSD. Pig did not partake. He found himself not just playing in a band, but navigating a world of merry pranksters, acid tests, and long, strange trips.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 10: What Really Happened to Amy Winehouse?

Amy Winehouse Episode 10: What Really Happened to Amy Winehouse?

The world mourned the death of Amy Winehouse on July 23, 2011 at the age of 27. For many, the grim reality was far from surprising. What was surprising, however, was what happened next. Sordid stories were told about her last night that contradicted the accepted narrative. An autopsy was called into question. And years down the line, there was a contested attempt to bring not just her music but her likeness back to life.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 9: A Long Day’s Journey into an Eternal Nightmare

Amy Winehouse Episode 9: A Long Day’s Journey into an Eternal Nightmare

Five years had passed since her last album. Her ex-husband was facing jail time for burglary. But Amy Winehouse chose to focus on the positive. She may not have been entirely sober, but she was no longer using. She had found a new person to love, and one who loved her. And then...the bottom dropped out.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 8: A Cocaine Overdose in the Bathtub, a Body in the Mirror, and Hacked by the Press

Amy Winehouse Episode 8: A Cocaine Overdose in the Bathtub, a Body in the Mirror, and Hacked by the Press

One of Amy Winehouse’s final collaborators was Tony Bennett, who, unbeknownst to her, had his own stories to tell about struggling with addiction and fear. But no one, not even Tony Bennett, could help Amy Winehouse. A concert in Serbia became a new low point. Hallucinations and paranoia turned reality into a nightmare. And there wasn’t one tabloid, blog, or social media platform that wasn’t there to capture it all – every last slip-up and wrong turn.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 7: The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules

Amy Winehouse Episode 7: The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules

Amy Winehouse wasn’t sure exactly what she was getting into when she accepted a £1million offer to play a private show for an anonymous Russian oligarch. Even more concerning was the uncertainty that lay ahead. After she squandered an opportunity to collaborate with a living legend and tried to burn the bridge of one of her most steadfast musical partners, Amy faced a crossroads. The two paths were clear. One was brightly lit; the other was dark. The choice was surprisingly difficult.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 6: Nursing Rodents, Mortifying the Fairy Godmother, and Hitting the Harder Stuff

Amy Winehouse Episode 6: Nursing Rodents, Mortifying the Fairy Godmother, and Hitting the Harder Stuff

Amy Winehouse gravitated towards trouble like a moth to a flame. She hung out with the libertines of London’s seedy society, which regularly left her life in shambles. A multi-day drug binge left her on death’s door. She left decorum at the front door when a holiday trip to the theatre turned violent. Yet despite all this, she still managed to give the people the one thing they were never expecting: hope that it would all turn around soon.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 5: First Impressions with Mark Ronson, Hitting the Paparazzi Where It Hurts, and an Out of Control Hurricane

Amy Winehouse Episode 5: First Impressions with Mark Ronson, Hitting the Paparazzi Where It Hurts, and an Out of Control Hurricane

When Amy Winehouse first met with producer Mark Ronson, their candid conversation would become a musical legend. That fateful meeting led to a career-defining song, a critically acclaimed album, and a creative vision that would cement her place in the pop pantheon. It gave her confidence to wage a war against the people who were hurting her the most – and win. But that momentum would prove no match for the steady stream of challenges, from old habits to hurricanes, that refused to disappear.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 4: Booed from the Stage, a Brawl with a Burlesque Dancer, and an Effigy in a Pool of Blood

Amy Winehouse Episode 4: Booed from the Stage, a Brawl with a Burlesque Dancer, and an Effigy in a Pool of Blood

Amy Winehouse made music that sounded like alchemy, thanks in large part to collaborators like Salaam Remi. Alchemy was something that became increasingly absent from Amy’s time outside the studio. In its place were lurking paparazzi, incessant boos, cases of Jack Daniels, and a life-sized gallery sculpture that predicted the worst.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 3: A Punch-Up at Glastonbury, Heroin on Tour, and Calls for Help from the Pub Bathroom

Amy Winehouse Episode 3: A Punch-Up at Glastonbury, Heroin on Tour, and Calls for Help from the Pub Bathroom

There were two sides to Amy Winehouse. One side was triumphant. The other side was a disaster. Two consecutive appearances at the Glastonbury Festival made that crystal clear; one presented Amy at her best, and the other presented her at her lowest. But no matter which side she found herself on, she pulled no punches. She even threw some punches of her own.

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Amy Winehouse Episode 2: A Bruised and Bloody Chase, Perverting the Course of Justice, and a Back-Door Police Raid

Amy Winehouse Episode 2: A Bruised and Bloody Chase, Perverting the Course of Justice, and a Back-Door Police Raid

Amy Winehouse didn’t compromise her sound for anyone. She had her creative vision under control. Meanwhile, her personal life spiraled out of control. She ran for her life down a dark London street following an unhinged and violent domestic dispute. Her money was offered up in an extortion deal to prevent her husband from doing time for the assault of an innocent man. And in 2007, London police made their maiden raid of her Camden flat...and were shocked at what they found inside.

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Start listening to Introducing: Stones Touring Party
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Start listening to Introducing: Stones Touring Party
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