Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
R.E.S.P.E.C.T
THOUSANDS IN FAREWELL TO ARETHA FRANKLIN
By daybreak in Detroit thousands had gathered to say farewell to Aretha Franklin, lining up at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History for an open casket viewing of the Queen of Soul.
Some had been there since 4pm the previous day, but as they waited for Aretha to arrive the mood was far from sombre, with mourners bursting into song with their own joyous tribute.
In an outpouring of love, they sang Respect, Think, I Say A Little Prayer and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – songs they knew off by heart.
As I joined them in line, they told me how Aretha, who died at her home in the city on August 16, had gifted them the soundtrack to their lives.
Whether it was to describe the pain of love or loathing, death or divorce, her lyrics offered comfort and support.
As Luane Cunningham, 29, told me: “It was as though she provided the blueprint to mend a broken heart or keep a b ***** d in check.”
Shortly after 7am, the crowds queuing in East Warren Avenue broke into a cheer as Aretha’s body arrived in a 1936 white Lasalle. “The Queen has arrived,” one woman shouted.
The magnificent gold-plated casket was taken into the museum and two hours later, at 9am precisely, the doors opened and the mourners filed in.
Surrounded by pink, peach, lilac and white roses, Aretha lay resplendent in a red sequinned dress, her feet casually crossed in classy crimson heels.
First to pay her respects was Latoya Mcintyre, 43, who had flown in from her home in Las Vegas and had begun queuing at 4pm on Monday, spending the night sleeping on the pavement.
She said: “There was no way I could not pay my respects.
“I’d have travelled to the other side of the world to make my own small tribute to the Queen.
“She was an inspiration to us all. Aretha will be missed but will remain forever in our hearts.”
That level of devotion was clear to see in all the fans who waited patiently in line, one of them in a trademark Aretha fur coat, despite the 32C temperatures. The singer’s body will be on view at the museum for two days, an honour only bestowed on Detroit’s most precious citizens, such as the civil rights campaigner Rosa Parks in 2005. War veteran James Miller, 71, who had travelled to see Aretha from Milwaukee, said he felt the world would never realise what she gave during her life.
He said: “Her music got us through Vietnam.”
After filing past the body, Cynthia Kelly, 49, told me: “Aretha was royalty. Her casket was fit for the queen that she was. During her life, she touched the hearts of everyone who heard her. “I’m glad to have lived when she was alive.” While she was born in Memphis, Tennessee, Aretha, who won 18 Grammy Awards and sold
75 million records, is more closely associated with Detroit, where she lived most of her life.
The city, in Michigan, may be the home of Motown, but Aretha never sang for the record company.
At the age of 15, she wanted to record for the new label, but her preacher father disliked the idea of his daughter getting into the music business at such a young age.
He let her play as a pianist to accompany her elder sister Erma, who started rehearsing in a Motown studio. But Erma wanted to be a jazz singer and so, like her sister, never actually made a record for Motown.
Though Aretha eventually left Detroit to pursue her career in New York and Los Angeles, she returned in 1982 to be closer to her family and lived in the city’s suburbs until her death at the age of 76. She had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. Over the course of this week, tens of thousands of Aretha’s fans are expected to travel from every continent to mourn loss, but also to celebrate her life. The open casket viewing is part of four days of events. After today’s viewing at the museum, Aretha’s body will be taken to the New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father, the late Rev C L Franklin, served as pastor.
There will be an open casket viewing there tomorrow.
In the evening, a star-studded concert to honour her life will be held at the Chene Park Amphitheatre , with The Four Tops and Gladys Knight among the performers. Aretha’s private funeral, which is for family, friends and invited guests only, will be held at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on Friday.
Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Yolanda Adams, Fantasia, Faith Hill and gospel singer Pastor Shirley Caesar will be among the performers.
Former President Bill Clinton, ex-us Attorney General Eric Holder, and civil rights activists the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are all schedtheir uled to speak. Former Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama have also been invited to the funeral.
The eulogy will be delivered by Rev Jasper Williams, Jr, pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Atlanta. He did the eulogy for Aretha’s father in 1984.
After the service, Aretha will be entombed at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, alongside her father, brother Cecil Franklin, sisters Carolyn and Erma and nephew, Thomas Garrett.
The cemetery is the last resting place of some of Motown’s biggest stars, including lead singer of The Temptations, David Ruffin, and Levi Stubbs, of The Four Tops.
They will soon be joined by the Queen of Soul, a legend who will be mourned for years to come. As Cynthia tells me: “I don’t think the world will ever see her like again.”