Those We Lost — August 16

Honoring those we lost on August 16 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.

Robert Johnson

Full name: Robert Leroy Johnson

Born May 8, 1911 — died Aug 16, 1938

Delta blues singer, guitarist, songwriter, and foundational recording artist.

Johnson recorded only 29 songs, but his voice, guitar technique, and haunting compositions became central to the language of blues and rock. Songs including “Cross Road Blues,” “Hellhound on My Trail,” and “Love in Vain” shaped generations of musicians while preserving the power of the Mississippi Delta tradition.

Max Roach

Full name: Maxwell Lemuel Roach

Born Jan 10, 1924 — died Aug 16, 2007

Jazz drummer, composer, bandleader, educator, and civil rights artist.

Roach helped invent bebop drumming, co-led the Clifford Brown–Max Roach Quintet, and expanded percussion through ensembles including M’Boom. With We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, he joined modern jazz to the struggle for Black freedom and made political commitment an enduring part of his art.

Aretha Franklin

Full name: Aretha Louise Franklin

Born Mar 25, 1942 — died Aug 16, 2018

Singer, pianist, songwriter, civil rights supporter, and the Queen of Soul.

Franklin carried Black church music into soul, pop, and national life with recordings including “Respect,” “Think,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” An 18-time Grammy winner and the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she made vocal power and self-possession inseparable.

Wear the history: Aretha Franklin — from the Black Knowledge Wear collection.