Amy Winehouse Joins the '27 Club' of Musicians Dying Young

Amy Winehouse, the Grammy winning singer whose styles combined R&B, soul, and jazz, has joined a rather sad group of hard living, troubled musicians who have managed to die at the age of 27.

A report in the U.K. Daily Mail suggests that Winehouse's death may have been brought on by a combination of ecstasy, cocaine, and ketamine which she bought the night before her death. She was also observed to have been drinking heavily. This comes as no surprise, considering that Winehouse has had a long term problem with alcohol and drug addiction, as well as a recent breakup with her former director and lover.

Winehouse is not the only famous musician to have died at 27, however.

Brian Jones was a founding member of the Rolling Stones. Shortly after leaving the band, Jones was found at the bottom of a swimming pool at Cotchford Farm. His death was officially ruled as the result of "misadventure" but it was also noted that his liver and heart had been greatly enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse.

Janis Joplin, born in Port Arthur Texas, and a famous singer of the late 1960s, died of an apparent overdose of heroin possibly combined with alcohol. Joplin's career was as meteoric as her downfall, having been a pioneer for women in rock music, hitherto dominated by men. Her raspy, blues style was unique both then and now.

Just over two weeks before Joplin died, Jimi Hendrix, a former Army paratrooper who pioneered electric guitar music, died in his own vomit apparently as the result of sleeping pills combined with wine. Hendrix, remembered for his iconic Afro and colorful costumes on stage, is best known for the song "Purple Haze."

Jim Morrison of The Doors died in 1971, officially of heart failure, though no autopsy had been performed. Morrison was regarded as much of a poet as a rock musician and with The Doors produced some of the first music videos in history. Morrison was also a well known abuser of LSD, believing that it would open for him higher states of consciousness.

Kurt Cobain was the founding member and lead guitarist of Nirvana, and a pioneer of the Seattle based grunge rock style. Cobain struggled with drug addiction as well as clinical depression for most of his life. His 1994 death was officially ruled as suicide by shot gun, though the circumstances of his death are still hotly debated by fans of his music.