The 27 Club!

Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse are some of the many who are a part of the 27 Club. 27 Club is used to refer to famous or well known music artists who have all died at the young age of 27!

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison coincidentally died between 1969 and 1971 at the same age. In fact, Hendrix died 16 days before Joplin in the 1970s, followed by Morrison in 1971. Only after Morrison’s death did the public come up with the idea of labeling this uncommon coincidence as the 27 Club.  

Brian Jones was a multi-instrumentalist of the Rolling Stones but was kicked out of the group because he couldn’t manage his drug intake. He eventually died, but from drowning in a swimming pool. Jimi Hendrix, died from choking on his own vomit due to alcohol and drugs and Janis Joplin died from a synergistic effect of a combination of heroin and alcohol. Jim Morrison died from a heart failure in the bath, claimed to be caused by heroin but there was no autopsy for proof. Kurt Cobain took a shotgun to the head after a heroin binge. One conspiracy claimed he was killed by Courtney Love. Lastly, Amy Winehouse, died in 2011, was found dead in her apartment from what appeared to be the cause of excessive alcohol abuse. 

These artists will be remembered throughout time as well as teach us valuable life lessons. 

 Purple Haze (Jimi Hendrix, 1967)

Want to know more about some of these legendary Rock icons and their music? Join us on the 26th and 27th of April 2013 for ICOM’s Tribute to Classic Rock at KLPac. 

Written by: Caitlynn Vidya Savari

Women Rock in a man's world!

Though the cliché says 'it's a man's world', we would like to modify that and proclaim that 'Women rock in a man's world' Yes indeed!

The world of popular music has had its fair share of women who've rocked through the years and are still rocking. The ICOM Celebration Series tribute to Classic Rock will be featuring a segment dedicated to Women in Rock. 

Sachie Amira- vocals- Women in Rock

When we think of women in music, we mostly think of Tina Turner, Madonna, Sheryl Crow or the new breed of female musicians from Avril Lavigne, Adele to  Rihanna or Katy Perry. While these names are certainly popular and can easily proclaim to have sold-out shows from Madison Square Garden to Wembley, there is a whole category of female rockers who ruled the FM waves in the  60s and 70s and were an inspiration to the women of the 80s and 90s and continuing today. We are talking of names such as Janis Joplin, Suzi Quattro, Ann & Nancy Wilson from Heart, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, etc. These female rockers were carving a name for themselves in a busy, commercialized world of music with the likes of top rock names driven by mighty levels of testosterone- bands like The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Queen, etc.

This post is about Susan Kay, or more famously known as “Suzi Quattro”, is a bassist and singer-song writer who braved the 70s and set a standard for women in rock.

Suzi was raised in the United States, during the revolution of rock n’ roll. She became an icon of the 70’s glam rock era with her tough girl image as well as being the first female bassist to become a major rockstar. She proved that it was possible for petite women to rock on stage with equal prowess as their male counterparts.

Christine Oh - Vocals- Women in Rock

When asked in an interview with the Metro Times about what she achieved for female rockers in general, Suzi said

‘Before I did what I did, we didn't have a place in rock 'n' roll. Not really. You had your Grace Slicks and all that, but that's not what I did. I was the first to be taken seriously as a female rock 'n' roll musician and singer. That hadn't been done before. I played the boys at their own game. For everybody that came afterward, it was a little bit easier, which is good. I'm proud of that.’

In the 1970’s, Suzi scored a string of hit singles such as the famous “Can the Can”, “Stumblin’ In”, “48 Crash”, and “All Shook Up” just to name a few.' In her musical career, she has achieved 16 hit singles, but moreover, she’s sold over 45 million records and has been touring since 1964.

Lavender Looi - arranger/bandleader/vocals/keys- Women in Rock

The ICOM Celebration Series Women in Rock musicians will be performing ‘Can the Can' and ’48 Crash’ two popular songs of Suzi Quattro featuring Sachie Amira and Christine Oh on vocals and supported by an all female cast of musicians headed by Lavender Looi.

You don't want to miss this exciting segment! Buy your tickets here : ICS Tribute to Classic Rock

Researched & written by: Caitlynn Vidya Savari (BTP), Chloe Doyou (BTP)

Edited by: Vinay Prabhakar (Senior Faculty)