Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, passed away on August 16 at age 76. As the Inquisitr previously reported, Franklin’s publicist confirmed that the “Respect” singer died in her Detroit home Thursday morning after a lengthy battle with cancer. Franklin was surrounded by family and friends at the time of her death.
But as the world remembers the music legend’s amazing career, many have noted the coincidental date that the singer passed away on. Aretha Franklin’s death comes on the 41st anniversary of the death of music legend Elvis Presley. Elvis, who was known as the King of Rock ‘n Roll, died suddenly on August 16, 1977, at the age of 42 after suffering a heart attack in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion.
Aretha Franklin’s death also comes on the 60th birthday of another music queen, Madonna. While social media was filled with tributes to Aretha on the day of her death, many fans noted that Madonna’s milestone 60th birthday, a celebration that she had been counting down for the past week on Twitter, was “upstaged” in the headlines by the death of Aretha Franklin. In a birthday post earlier in the day, Madonna described herself as “the Queen.” A few hours later, the Queen of Soul’s death was announced.
Social media fans wasted no time in pointing out that Aretha’s death, which occurred in the same city that Madonna grew up in, stole the Material Girl’s birthday thunder, with some joking that it was the ultimate final act by the iconic R&B singer. You can see some of the tweets about the timing of Aretha Franklin’s death below.
It seems entirely appropriate that Aretha Franklin’s final act was to upstage Madonna.
— Van (@hellothisisivan) August 16, 2018
Aretha’s final act was to steal every ounce of the spotlight on Madonna’s birthday. An iconic stunt queen to the very end. ??
— samcorb (@samcorb) August 16, 2018
Madonna: And so, on my birth- Aretha: Move over.
— Seth Abramovitch (@SethAbramovitch) August 16, 2018
Aretha Franklin and Madonna’s musical styles are very different, so the two music “queens” never had a reason to be rivals. The two legends seemed to have plenty of respect for one another. In fact, in 2014, the music icons even partied together. According to The Cut , Madonna and Aretha Franklin both attended Alicia Keys’ annual Black Ball to benefit Keep a Child Alive in October of that year.
Madonna, who is celebrating her 60th in Marrakesh, has not yet publicly commented on the death of Aretha Franklin. But longtime fans of Madge already know she has another sweet tie-in to the Queen of Soul, which will forever link them together in the movie world.
In 1985, Madonna’s big screen debut in the movie Desperately Seeking Susan included a key scene that featured Aretha Franklin’s biggest song, “Respect.” In the scene, Madonna’s character, Susan, trades her beloved jacket for a pair of bedazzled boots as Aretha’s signature song plays in the background. You can see the scene below.
