Posted By:
davidcyclebackThat the original choices on an American-centric board are between an Amerian and a non-American answers the question. Ruth is a household name to Americans, while The Beattles are equally famous in the US, China, Iran and Venzuela. In 500 years, will baseball be the dominant sport of the world? More than unlikely (it's not now). In 500 years will people be listing to music? More than likely.
Even if China is the ones writing the history in 500 years, my guess is that The Beattles will be included in the history books as a dominent cultural influence of the 20th century. I also think it's more likely that someone 500 years from now will listen to an old The Beattles song than watch a a rerun of an old Babe Ruth baseball game.
I listen to Bach on my CD player, and I have no clue who was the great athlete of the day or even what were the popular sport in Germany. I don't even speak German!
That someone sitting at his Dell computer reading the 2005 news can enjoy a piece of music just as much as oxcart driver 300 years ago did says there's something about music.
I supect that, even more than a musician, a visual artist from this age will be remembered. This is as there are no languange barriers, and a painting or sculpture can be viewed in person 500 years from now (which is better than reading the box score account). As Van Gogh and Modigliani and many others who died in obscurity have shown us, who from now is the most popular in the future, is often not who is most popular now.