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Admirers from diverse generations, backgrounds, situations and tastes will pay respects this week to "the greatest singer to ever come out of Detroit," as columnist Rochelle Riley casts her Sunday in the Freep.
Tributes to Aretha Franklin will come from a past U.S. president and west-siders from her childhood streets, from globally known voices and parisoners from her dad's church, from millennials and from grandparents who've been fans for five decades.
Sintex, a Detroit artist, created this 15-foot-high mural Aug. 19 on Euclid Street at Linwood Street near New Bethel Baptist Church. (Stephanie Hume photo)
Worldwide salutes began nearly two weeks ago after the 76-year-old queen of soul died Aug. 16 from pancreatic cancer.
During the week and a half since then, arrangements for "homegoing" observances expanded from two sites to three, gained a symbolic display of pink Cadillacs and a free Chene Park tribute show (no tickets left), and include a lineup of A-list speakers and performers at a private funeral that'll s tretch many hours Friday.
The outpouring of affection and respect will honor a Detroit loyalist who was "a home girl and diva in one package," to use another phrase from Riley's latest column.
Here's a summary of what's ahead in a week that will draw international media coverage:
♦ Wright Museum viewing: Anyone can line up Tuesday and Wednesday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren in the Cultural Center, where Franklin will lie in open-casket repose from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
♦ Church viewing: Similar public processions will file past her casket from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday at New Bethel Baptist Church, 8430 C.L. Franklin Blvd. (Linwood Street, between Clairmount Avenue and West Grand Boulevard).
♦ Free concert: Gladys Knight, the Four Tops and Johnny Gill are among more than 20 performers scheduled for a 6-9 p.m. Thursday show at Chene Park Amphitheatre. Other artists include Raheem DeVaughn, Angie Stone and Kierra (Kiki) Sheard. Tickets were released at 10 a.m. Monday with a limit of two per user., and all 6,000 were gone ine minutes.
→ See full lineup.
♦ Private funeral: Family members, friends, dignitaries and other invitees gather at a.m. in Greater Grace Temple, 23500 W. Seven Mile. The 4,000-seat church led by Bishop Charles H. Ellis III was the site of Rosa Parks's funeral in 2005, when Franklin sang and the televised service lasted nine hours. Coleman A. Young was euologized there in 1997.
→ This week's ceremony will be livestreamed here and also televised by WDIV, WJBK and WXYZ.
→ Pink Caddys will be lined up outside the church, starting at 8:30 a.m., by owners who are invited to attend the service. (Registration is closed.) Crisette Ellis, the bishop's wife, will bring her pink Cadillac Escalade. The visual tribute is an homage to "Freeway of Love," a 1985 Grammy-winner hit in which Franklin sings about cruising in a you-know-what.
♦ Funeral speakers: The Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. of Salem Baptist Church in Atlanta gives the main eulogy. Tributes come from Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Eric Holder, Rick Snyder, Al Sharpton, Cicely Tyson, Smokey Robinson, Clive Davis and others.
♦ Funeral singers: Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Chaka Khan, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Shirley Caesar, Ron Isley, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Holliday and Edward Franklin, son of the woman being honored. Gospel performers are Marvin Sapp, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, the Aretha Franklin Choir and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir. See the full list of 19 performers.
Graphic from the City of Detroit Media Services Department.
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Franklin will be entombed at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, along with her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin; brother Cecil Franklin; sisters Carolyn Franklin and Erma Franklin; and nephew Thomas Garrett.
Sabrina Owens, a niece described in the Free Press as executor of Franklin’s estate, is quoted as saying this weekend:
"The Franklin family is humbled and grateful for the outpouring of love and support from the Detroit community, and around the world. We always knew that Aretha was a global icon. However, the world response has surprised us.
"We will forever remember the kindnesses and support shown to our family during this dark time. As we continue to build her legacy, Detroit will always be the center point for that growth and expansion.
"Everyone knows that Aretha loved Detroit with a passion. We will surely miss her. However, her music will live on into eternity."
Original post, Aug. 17:
No date is announced yet for funeral tributes to Aretha Franklin at Greater Grace Temple next week, a memorial service that could be Detroit's largest and most dignitary-filled since one there Nov. 2, 2005.
That's when another American icon, 92-year-old Rosa Parks, was honored at the temple on West Seven Mile by about 5,000 people -- including 1,000 in an overflow room at the church complex.
Bishop Charles Ellis III officiated at a televised service lasting over seven hours. Guests included Bill and Hillary Clinton, an Illinois senator named Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
There also is a direct connection to Detroit's latest loss of a towering figure.
Aretha Franklin, who knew about reaching an unreachable star, delivered a powerful, poignant performance of "The Impossible Dream" -- a fitting classic from the 1965 Broadway musical "Man of La Mancha." (She also sang that song, as well as "I'll Fly Away," at the Dec. 5, 1997 funeral of Coleman A. Young, mayor from 1974-94.)
Be moved again, with an extra reason now, by this seven-minute video:
