White lighter myth White lighter myth The white lighter myth or white lighter curse is an urban legend based on the 27 Club in which it is claimed several musicians and artists died while in possession of a white lighter, causing white lighters to be attributed to bad fortune. The myth is primarily based on the deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Patrick Hafner, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain. The myth has been integrated with cannabis culture. In 2017, Snopes.com published an article discrediting the theory, noting that Bic did not begin producing white disposable lighters until several years after the deaths of
Janis Joplin and deeply vulnerable", and author Megan Terry said that Joplin was the female version of Elvis Presley in her ability to captivate an audience. A book about Joplin by her publicist Myra Friedman, titled "Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin" (1973), was excerpted in many newspapers. At the same time, Peggy Caserta's memoir, "Going Down With Janis" (1974), attracted a lot of attention, with its provocative title referring to her performing oral sex with Joplin while they were high on heroin, in September 1970. Joplin's bandmate Sam Andrew would later describe Caserta as "halfway between a groupie and a