‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin dies on same day as Elvis, 41 yrs later

LOS ANGELES: ‘Queen of Soul’ Aretha Franklin with such hit songs as “Respect” and “Chain of Fools,” died on Thursday at the age of 76 — on the same day that Elvis Presley died 41 years ago.

Franklin, who won 18 Grammy Awards and had some 25 gold records, died at her home in Detroit surrounded by family and loved ones, her publicist said. She had been battling advanced pancreatic cancer.

Calling it one of the darkest moments of their lives, Franklin’s family said they were unable to fi nd the appropriate words to express the pain in their hearts.

“We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins knew no bounds,” her family said in a statement.

Exactly 41 years, the world had mourned the death of Elvis Presley.

“Everybody remembers where they were when they heard Elvis had died,” Scott Williams, president and chief operating officer of the Newseum, told The Washington Post. He is the former vice president of marketing and public relations for Elvis Presley Enterprises.

The same will no doubt be true for Franklin.

“No matter when she died it would have been a loss,” Williams said, but he noted it’s interesting that a day after people held a candlelight vigil on Wednesday to remember Presley, they mourned Franklin.

In 1977, Presley was discovered unconscious at Graceland, his mansion in Memphis, and was rushed to nearby Baptist Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The news hit the airwaves. Newspapers and magazines scrambled to get the story on the next day’s front page. And tabloids ran blunt headlines announcing “Elvis is dead.” Variety reported at the time that “Elvis Presley, often credited as the single performer to introduce white audiences to the black boogie and blues rhythms of his native south, died yesterday at age 42, possibly of a heart attack.”

Days later, the National Enquirer published a controversial photo showing the deceased musician in a casket.

“There was mass hysteria to get the story, to get a picture, to try to get a piece of the action,” Williams said. — Reuters/ Washington Post

Franklin (right) died on the same day that Presley died 41 years ago. — Reuters file photos

Flowers and tributes are placed on the Star for Franklin on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California, on Thursday. (Top) Passers-by pay their respects to Franklin at the Apollo Theater on Thursday in New York City. — AFP photos

A sign on the Music Hall in Detroit commemorates the passing of Franklin, the ‘Queen of Soul’, in Detroit on Thursday. — AFP photo