Say a little prayer: Aretha Franklin's funeral fuses spirit with star power
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Pink Cadillacs filled the street early today outside Detroit’s Greater Grace Temple as hundreds of fans lined up for the funeral of Aretha Franklin, who’s dressed in a sparkling gold dress for a service featuring dignitaries in the music and political worlds.
Clive Davis, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Holliday, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are among those in the Motor City for the final goodbye to the Queen of Soul.
Pallbearers carry Franklin’s gold casket into Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on Friday. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
Franklin’s body arrived, in a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse, more than two hours before the service was scheduled to start. She was dressed in a sparkling full-length gold dress with sequined heels — her fourth outfit Franklin during a week of events leading up to her funeral.
Her casket was carried to the church that also held services for Franklin’s father, legendary minister C.L. Franklin, and civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks before their final resting places at Woodlawn Cemetery, where the singer’s body will also rest. The Pink Cadillacs are in honour of Franklin’s 1980s hit Freeway of Love.
Franklin’s casket has been carried by the same classic 1940 LaSalle hearse that that also carried her father, prominent minister C.L. Franklin, and civil rights icon Rosa Parks. (Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images)
Floral arrangements from such singers as Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett and the family of Otis Redding — whose song Respect was recorded by Franklin, who transformed it and made it her signature tune — were set up in a hallway outside the sanctuary. An arrangement from singer Sam Moore included a card that read, “You know I always adored and loved you to bits and pieces … Even when we would fuss.”
Funeral organizers insist it will be a service, not a show. Yet the Queen of Soul’s final sendoff certainly will encompass many elements, emotions and grand entrances that were hallmarks of her more than six decades on sacred and secular stages.
And it boasts a lineup of speakers and singers that would rival any of the hottest revues, past or present.
Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, greets Franklin fans gathered outside the New Bethel Baptist Church, the church once ministered by the singer’s father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, on Thursday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)To be sure, the funeral at Detroit’s Greater Grace Temple that caps off a week of events, which included high-profile public viewings and tribute concerts, comes with all-star speakers and performers. Among those offering words will be former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Smokey Robinson. Songs will be provided by Stevie Wonder, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Faith Hill, Shirley Caesar, Chaka Khan and more.
Bishop Charles Ellis III of Greater Grace knows well of the boldface guest list and surrounding pomp and circumstance, but has a higher mission in mind for the service that may well exceed five hours.
“It is my goal and my aim to ensure that people leave here with some kind of spiritual awakening,” Ellis said.
This is not a concert, this is not a show, this is not an awards production. This is a real life that has been lived.– Bishop Charles Ellis III
“This is not a concert, this is not a show, this is not an awards production. This is a real life that has been lived, that a person regardless of how famous she became no matter how many people she touched around the world, she still could not escape death. And hopefully, a lot of people here with money and fame and influence and friends and notoriety and wealth, hopefully they will think of their mortality and say there is something bigger than fame, there is something bigger than Hollywood, something bigger than being a recording artist and selling gold albums or what have you.”
Of course, some get-down and lift-up need not be mutually exclusive.
“I really believe that this … is going to be an eye-opening experience for everybody in the world watching,” said gospel artist Marvin Sapp, also among the scheduled performers.
“We really celebrate because we really recognize that those we call the dearly departed, they wouldn’t want for us to cry and be sad and sorrowful. But they would want us to celebrate their lives because they transitioned from this life to a better one.”
The late Queen of Soul continues to inspire new generations of singers, says Smokey Robinson. ‘There are some girls who haven’t been born yet … who will be inspired by Aretha.’ (Amy Sancetta/Associated Press)
Sapp wouldn’t reveal what he will perform Friday, but said every song is one picked out by Franklin. Robinson also didn’t share what he will say, but that’s for a different reason.
“I do not plan anything [with] someone I love like that,” Robinson, a Motown great who grew up with Franklin, told The Associated Press. “I love her. She was my longest friend.”
Robinson said he will just make it “personal,” since he remained close with Franklin until the end. He said they “talked all the time,” the last just a couple weeks before she became too ill to speak.
“We saw all of our other close friends go. We used to talk about that — we saw a lot of soldiers go.”
A mourner holds a copy of The Final Call newspaper featuring the late Aretha Franklin on the cover. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)
Amid the sadness of these days, Robinson can find uplift — and believes Franklin’s legacy is secure. A new generation of singers like Grande who are inspired by the late Queen of Soul is just the beginning.
“There are some girls who haven’t been born yet … who will be inspired by Aretha,” he said.
Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece, told the AP she started putting thoughts to paper about events earlier this year as her aunt’s health failed. Since Franklin’s Aug. 16 death at 76, Owens said a close group she described as “Aretha’s angels” have “worked tirelessly” and have been guided by a single question: “What would Aretha want?”
“After all she gave to the world, I felt we needed to give her an appropriate send-off that would match her legacy,” Owens said.
Article source: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2016/01/sri-lankan-president-allegations-war-crimes-160128150748006.html
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