Stevie Wonder brings mourners at Aretha Franklin's funeral to their feet
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Stevie Wonder wowed with his harmonica skills and then brought the remaining mourners at Aretha Franklin’s lengthy funeral to their feet with a moving version of As.
The choir, Franklin’s family, preachers and remaining guests swayed as Wonder played the classic tune in honour of his old friend.
“The reason we are here today is love,” Wonder said in remarks.
Jennifer Hudson was one of a long list of singers who paid tribute to Franklin. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
Politicians and preachers joined a parade of pop stars Friday in a singing, hip-swaying, piano-pounding farewell to Franklin, remembering the Queen of Soul as a powerful force for musical and political change and a steadfast friend.
“Aretha’s singing challenged the dangling discords of hate and lies and racism and injustice,” said the pastor William J. Barber II. “Her singing was revelation and was revolution.”
In a sendoff both grand and personal, an all-star lineup of mourners filled the same Detroit church that hosted Rosa Parks’s funeral and offered prayers, songs and dozens of tributes. Guests included former U.S. president Bill Clinton, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Smokey Robinson.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton told mourners he had loved Franklin since college (Mike Segar/Reuters)
While attendees found their seats at the Greater Grace Temple, 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. Bishop T.D. Jakes was among those reading from the Bible and offering tributes to Franklin, who died Aug. 16 at age 76.
Rev. Al Sharpton recalled Franklin’s activist side, noting she raised money for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and created “the soundtrack of the civil rights movement.”
“She gave us pride. She gave us a regal bar to reach,” Sharpton said. “She represented the best in our community.”
Rev. Al Sharpton took a shot at Trump during his address (Mike Segar/Reuters)
Sharpton also took a swipe at President Donald Trump for saying that Franklin once worked for him.
“She performed for you,” Sharpton declared. “She worked for us.… Aretha took orders from nobody but God.”
This is not a concert.… This is a real life that has been lived.– Bishop Charles Ellis III
Funeral organizers insisted it would be a service, not a show. Yet the Queen of Soul’s final sendoff encompassed many elements, emotions and grand entrances that were hallmarks of her more than six decades on sacred and secular stages.
Robinson, the Motown great, remembered first hearing Franklin play piano when he was just eight and remained close to her 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, with the line “really gonna be different without you.”
Watch as Smokey Robinson speaks of his longtime friend
Family members, among them granddaughter Victorie Franklin and grandson Jordan Franklin, spoke with awe and affection as they remembered a world-famous performer who also loved gossip and kept pictures of loved ones on her piano.
Listen as two of Aretha Franklin’s grandchildren speak emotionally of what she meant to them
Franklin’s body arrived early in the day in a 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse, 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.
Franklin’s casket was 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)
The casket was carried to the church that also took Franklin’s father, legendary minister C.L. Franklin, and civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks to their final resting places at Woodlawn Cemetery, where the singer will join them.
Pallbearers carried Franklin’s gold casket into Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on Friday. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
The service boasted a lineup of singers that would rival any of the hottest revues, past or present. Music was provided by Faith Hill, Grande, The Clark Sisters and Franklin’s son, Edward. Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Chaka Khan and more.
Some mourners used hats to show their respect (Leah Mills/Reuters)
Bishop Charles Ellis III of Greater Grace had a higher mission in mind for the service that went on all afternoon.
“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. 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.”
Rev. Jesse Jackson, right, consoles a family member as they pause at the casket of Aretha Franklin during her funeral service at Greater Grace Temple on Friday. (Paul Sancya/Associated Press)
Program covers showed a young Franklin, with a slight smile and sunglasses perched on her nose, and the caption, A Celebration Fit For The Queen. Large bouquets of pink, lavender and white flowers flanked her casket.
A mourner holds a copy of The Final Call newspaper featuring the late Aretha Franklin on the cover. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)
Floral arrangements from singers such as Barbra Streisand and Tony Bennett and from the family of the late Otis Redding, whose Respect Franklin transformed and made her signature song, 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.”
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 death, 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 sendoff that would match her legacy,” Owens said.
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)
Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/heather-heyer-charlottesville-victim-1.4245765?cmp=rss
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