By Erick Johnson, Chicago Crusader
Thursday, the fifth day of the week, seems to be a day where the world’s biggest honorific names in music royalty meet their Maker. The latest is the ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin, who died on Thursday, August 16 in Detroit.
History shows that Fate usually picks Thursday as the final day for music’s biggest icons.
Franklin died on the same day as Michael Jackson, the ‘King of Pop,’ Prince, B.B. King, the ‘King of the Blues,’ Donna Summer, the ‘Queen of Disco, Ray Charles, the ‘King of Blues’, Frank Sinatra, ‘The Voice,’ Mahalia Jackson, the ‘Queen of Gospel,’ and Count Basie.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the slain civil rights leader, whom Franklin shared a tight friendship, also died on a Thursday, April 4, 1968. Cleotha Staples, a member of Chicago’s Staple singers died on a Thursday, too. TLC’s Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopez died on Thursday, April 25, 2002. And Natalie Cole died Thursday, December 31, 2015.
Of all the figures, many agree that Franklin truly lived up to her title as the ‘Queen of Soul,’ with her grace and powerful voice. Franklin also died exactly 41 years ago from the date of the ‘King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley, who died in Franklin’s hometown of Memphis on August 16, 1977. However, the day the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ died was a Tuesday.
Fridays seem to be an alternative day for deaths of music royalty. Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, ‘Lady Day’ and Sam Cooke, the ‘King of Soul,’ all died on a Friday.
