But at some point after their initial superstardom and then the subsequent "echo" and ripple, they mostly disappeared - because they were replaced by then-new cultural touchstones.

You ever visit Hollywood (CA, not FL)? Walk of Fame. I didn't walk the whole thing, but I walked segments of it as we wandered the area. I didn't recognize most of the names. They rated a "star", and I never heard of them.

However, there is another factor. Most of those old names were before the information age. They were from a time where a theater would run a movie, and when the next movie came out, they burned the previous one. Tossed in the garbage, and lost to history. Today, that doesn't happen. And it's digitized and distributed. We never forget now, at least in that it is forever accessible today. We've lost the original performances of Mozart (since they had no recording technology), but we have Itzak Perlman doing Mozart forever. It's "out there" for anyone to find. A lot of Charlie Chaplin is lost because they didn't keep the reels.

So the next question is "is it worth finding?". Bing Crosby probably isn't worth finding. He had a nice voice, but that's it. He wasn't creative. He was just another singer. Same with Sinatra. Did either of them write/compose anything? Did they play instruments? No, they just sang. Singers are a dime a dozen. Tune in American Idol (1poorkid went through a phase where she liked that, so I was exposed to it), many of the contestants have really nice voices (or they wouldn't be there). A dime a dozen.

A hundred years from now the Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Beatles, plus films like 2001 and Saving Private Ryan, will be available.

I do have to concede that it's impossible to say what will appeal in the future. I think some things will be timeless. But I use Bogart as an example of someone that won't (in less than 100 years). Bogart was flat. His delivery was monotone. I'm not convinced he was a good actor at all (same with John Wayne, for that matter). Bogey could be delivering a line to a gangster, or a beautiful woman, and it was the same tone and cadence. Just flat. No range at all. I doubt he will ever experience a resurgence because there are so many better actors (Hackman, Hanks, the list is endless).

I do think that musically we are experiencing an era of sameness. Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, and more, are very talented. Good writers, good singers. Lots of fans, of course. But it seems to me that they lack that *something* that will endure for 100 years or more.

As I mentioned, while doing my taxes I went down a rabbit hole of videos of people who NEVER heard the Beatles, reacting to Abbey Road (for example). These Gen-Xers are still blown away, 60 years after the album was released. I can't say that won't happen with the immensely talented Taylor Swift, but I doubt it.