A star-studded, soulful farewell to Aretha
Queen of Soul’s family serenaded by legends at her funeral in Detroit
DETROIT— An all-star lineup of mourners filled a Detroit church with prayers and songs Friday for Aretha Franklin’s funeral, honouring her not just as the Queen of Soul but also as a lifelong friend, family member, churchgoer and activist.
Guests at the Greater Grace Temple included former president Bill Clinton, former Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson.
Robinson, the Motown great, remembered first hearing her play piano when he was just 8 and remaining close for the rest of her life, talking for hours at a time. “You’re so special,” he said, before crooning a few lines from his song “Really Gonna Miss You.” The service encompassed many elements, emotions and grand entrances that were hall- marks of her more than six decades on sacred and secular stages. It was a send-off both grand and personal.
Ariana Grande sang one of the Queen of Soul’s biggest hits, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and Faith Hill performed “What a Friend We Have In Jesus.”
The Aretha Franklin Orchestra performed a medley featuring “I Say a Little Prayer,” “Angel” and other songs Franklin was known for, along with gospel numbers “I Love the Lord” and “Walk in the Light.”
Record giant Clive Davis remembered Franklin, who died Aug. 16 at age 76, as a woman with a thirst for knowledge, as a “true Renaissance woman” — and one with a streak of perfectionism.
Davis, who produced Franklin’s music for decades, said once Franklin committed to a project, she’d go into “Aretha mode,” privately rehearsing and preparing so intensely that it was rare for her to need more than a few takes in the studio.
Said Davis: “Aretha’s voice will be influencing others, literally, for centuries to come.”
Her body arrived early Friday in a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse. She was dressed in a shimmering gold dress, with sequined heels — the fourth outfit Franklin was clothed in during a week of events leading up to her funeral.
The casket was carried to the church that also took Franklin’s father, the renowned minister C.L. Franklin, and civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks to their final resting places at Woodlawn Cemetery, where the singer will join them. Pink Cadillacs filled the street outside the church, a reference to a Franklin hit from the 1980s, “Freeway of Love.”
Detroit plans to rename the riverfront amphitheatre Chene Park to “Aretha Franklin Park.”