The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll is a 2008 book about the 27 Club, authored by Eric Segalstad and illustrated by Josh Hunter. Structured as a non-fiction narrative, it tells the history of rock & roll as seen through the lives and legacies of 34 musicians who all died at the age of 27. It was independently published, and distributed by Random House.

Summary

The book covers the lives of Robert Johnson, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and more than two dozen other musicians in an illustrated history, including 22 original portraits. The book's storyline covers the history of rock in a largely linear fashion, although The 27s can also be read at random, with detours into the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche as it applies to music, numerology, astrology, and the claim that more rock stars have died at 27 than at any other age.

Illustrations

The book's illustrator, Josh Hunter, told The Huffington Post that, "The artwork tells its own story as well. There are these other layers, these hidden symbols and cryptic messages that, if you're alert to them, you're going to find we're packing in as well."

The 27s in the book

Accolades

The 27s won silver in the 2009 Independent Publisher Book Award for Popular Culture.