This is the day the legends died.
Three giants of American pop culture – the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, the Sultan of Swat Babe Ruth and king of rock n roll Elvis Presley – Each was called to the royal court of immortality on this day in history, August 16: Franklin in 2018, Ruth in 1948, and Presley in 1977.
Franklin and Presley were arguably the greatest female and male voices of all time modern music History.
Ruth is possibly the most famous athlete in American sports.
Long after his death on August 16, he continues to stand as a towering figure.
Franklin (1942-2018) sold more than 75 million records worldwide and topped the list of “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” published by Rolling Stone magazine in 2008.
August 16 is the day these three great personalities died. Three giants of American pop culture, American icons Aretha Franklin (1942-2018), Babe Ruth (1895-1948) and Elvis Presley (1935-1977), all died on the same date. (NBC/Getty; MPI/Getty; Archive Photos/Getty)
“You know there’s a power from heaven,” singer Mary J. Blige said in a Rolling Stone chronicle of top female singers.
“You know something is something that God made. And Aretha is a gift from God.”
Franklin is remembered for her hit songs “Respect”, “Chain of Fools” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”.
All three of these tunes have been included in lists of the greatest American music.
Together they showcased Franklin’s astonishing vocal power and her ability to express a wide range of emotions that captured the female experience.
He died at the age of 76 after eight long years of research. Battle against cancer.
Aretha Franklin performs onstage at the Park West Auditorium on March 23, 1992 in Chicago, Illinois. (Paul Natkin/Getty Images)
The sudden death of Presley (1935-1977) at his Graceland mansion in Memphis at the age of 42 sent shock waves through global pop culture. It still resonates today,
He placed an incredible 109 songs on the Billboard Top 100 chart. Guinness World Records recognizes him as the best-selling solo artist of all time, having sold over 1 billion units worldwide, including 130 million in the US alone.
Elvis also starred in 33 movies.
Famed composer Leonard Bernstein said of Presley, “Elvis is the greatest cultural force of the 20th century.”
“He brought rhythm to everything and changed everything.”
Rock ‘n’ roll musician Elvis Presley performs onstage at “The Ed Sullivan Show” on January 6, 1957 in New York City, NY (Steve Orosz/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
He was ranked third on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest singers of all time.
Among his notable performances were: the No. 1 hit “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956, “Jailhouse Rock” in 1957 and his final No. 1 song “Suspicious Minds”, which topped the charts in 1969.
Known worldwide simply as Elvis, he also starred in 33 films and is seen around the world as a global icon of the United States.
How Babe Ruth Created the Modern Professional Athlete
George Herman “Babe” Ruth (1895-1948) dominated baseball, the broader American sport, and the national spotlight like no other athlete before or since.
American baseball player Babe Ruth (1895-1948) – whose birth name was George Herman Ruth Jr. – smokes a pipe and plays the piano in the 1910s, while his wife, Helen Ruth (1897-1929), stands next to him. (Keystone/FPG/Getty Images)
When baseball was in vogue, he was dominant. The most popular sport in the country And he did it with rare and fearless bravery — with a joyful, hard-living personality that dominated the diamond.
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Ruth was baseball’s best pitcher in his early years. He helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 1915, 1916 and 1918 – before he was purchased by the New York Yankees in 1920 and became one of the best sluggers in the game’s history.
Ruth topped the American League in slugging percentage 13 times, home runs 12 times, and bases on balls 11 times, while leading the Yankees to World Series victories in 1923, 1927, 1928, and 1932.
Babe Ruth stunned the sports world in 1920 by hitting a record 54 home runs in his first season with the Yankees.
His numbers are even more astonishing in the context of his era.
Ruth stunned the sports world by hitting a record 54 home runs in his first season with the Yankees in 1920. No other American League team hit more than 50 home runs that year.
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The term “Ruthian” remains in the American lexicon today, referring to athletic accomplishments or figures so large that they dwarf those around them and are hard to describe.
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In 1946, Ruth was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
When he died two years later, he was only 53 years old.
