GOING OUT IN STYLE...
Aretha’s gold coffin
THOUSANDS of fans gathered to pay their respects to Aretha Franklin during a public open casket viewing yesterday.
The Queen of Soul died two weeks ago aged 76 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Ahead of her funeral on Friday, the star’s body was put on display in a gold coffin at the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History in her home town of Detroit.
Aretha was decked out in a red cocktail dress and matching shiny red stilettos.
Fans of the singer, whose hits included I Say A Little Prayer and Natural Woman, travelled from across the US to see the star one last time ahead of her funeral.
Museum board member Kelly Green said that her body had been dressed in red from head-to-toe to be “reflective” of the powerful woman she was.
Ms Green said: “What we wanted to do is be reflective of the Queen. It’s beautiful. She’s beautiful.”
At the request of her family, only Aretha’s gospel music will be heard playing inside the venue during the two-day public viewing ceremony.
Mourners were seen singing and dancing outside the museum as they waited for a chance to see the Queen of Soul one final time.
Tammy Gibson, 49, said: “I know people are sad, but it’s just celebrating – people dancing and singing her music.”
Alma Riley, 67, added: “Aretha made a lot of women look at themselves differently and changed how a lot of men looked at women.
“That is particularly important today when we see such a lack of respect.”
Ann Fortson, 63, said: “She was a symbol for us.”
The retired teacher had driven seven hours from Charleston, West Virginia, with two friends the previous day. She added: “There was no way we’d miss paying our respects.” Some of those in line claimed that a niece of Aretha arrived in the morning with burgers, water and T-shirts and thanked those who were waiting.
Her songs boomed out of loudspeakers near the venue.
Earlier, a white hearse had carried the casket to the museum.
The venue was chosen because civil rights campaigner Rosa Parks’s viewing took place there in 2005, and a similarly large crowd was expected.
Aretha’s body will remain on display to the public until Thursday, when preparations will begin for her funeral at Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery.
The funeral is strictly for family and friends of the singer, and music superstars Chaka Khan, Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson are among those set to perform.
Former US president Bill Clinton will be among the speakers as the legendary Motown singer is laid to rest.
The streets outside will be lined with dozens of pink Cadillacs in tribute to the star’s 1985 hit Freeway Of Love.
The preacher’s daughter first topped the charts in 1967 with Respect, her rousing reworking of a modest hit for Otis Redding that became an enduring anthem for feminism and the civil rights movement.
Her other hits included Chain Of Fools, Think, Ain’t No Way and Rock Steady.