Aretha funeral to feature 130 pink cadillacs in tribute to hit Freeway of Love (2024)

A PARADE of pinkCadillacs will line up outside the church whereAretha Franklin's funeral will be held, in homage to her hit song 'Freeway of Love.'

More than 130 of the luxury motors will park up outside Greater Grace Temple todayin tribute to the tune which is an anthem for Detroit, known as Motor City.

The giant cars will honour the Queen of Soul's 1985 chart success which features the lyrics: "We're going riding on the freeway of love. In a pink Cadillac."

Mary Kay cosmetics boss Crisette Ellis came up with the idea after seeing the police lining up in their squad cars to honour fallen officers.

"My husband said, 'Wouldn't it be awesome if we could have a sea of pink Cadillacs parked on Seven Mile Road to greet Ms. Aretha Franklin as she arrives?' Ellis, who herself owns a luxurious pink Escalade, explained toNPR.

She then began searching for other pink 'Caddy' owners who would be up for joining in the amazing farewell procession.

"They're coming from everywhere," she revealed. "They are coming from as far as Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Florida; North Carolina; Maryland."

The hit songwill also be included in the musical tribute for the star tonight led by music director Kern Brantley who worked with Franklin as a bass player and a producer.

"Freeway of Love is like an anthem for us Detroiters," he explained. "[It] starts off with a Motown beat, and that's the pulse of the city."

The song - the video for which featured real car workers in Detroit factories - went on to bag Franklin her 12th Grammy Award, winning for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Aretha's body will actually be transportedin Rosa Parks' white Cadillac hearse from a Detroit museum before she is laid to rest today (Friday, August 31).

Loyal fans have been paying their final respects to the Queen of Soul as she lies in stateat Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

The star's bodywent on display on Tuesday as part of a week of commemorations for the legend, who died of pancreatic cancer on August 16.

For the first of the two-day public viewing, the star was dressed in ruby red heels and a matching dress with her legs crossed at the ankle. On the final day, she had been changed into asheer baby blue dress with matching shoes.

She has been lying in state in a glittering gold coffin which has the words"Aretha Franklin the Queen of Soul" embroidered into the fabric onthe inside of the lid.

Commemorations will continue tonight with a free public concert organised by her family called “A People’s Tribute to the Queen” atDetroit’s Chene Park Amphitheatre.

Tickets to the event, which will featuretributes and performances from R&B, all-star, jazz and gospel groups, sold out within minutes.

A private funeral will take place for the singer at the Greater Grace Temple, with an all-star list of speakers and performer, including Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, and Jennifer Hudson.

Following the service, she will then be laid to rest at the city's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Her body is expected to travel in the same hearse which transported her to the museum earlier this week.

The hearse has been used to carry her father Rev CL Franklin's body, funeral director O'Neil Swanson II told CNN.

He said the vehicle also transported the bodies of Rosa Parks in 2005 and Temptations singer David Ruffin in 1991.

Inside the Detroit museum where she lay in state she was surrounded by a spray of soft-pink and lavender-coloured roses.

The flowers were said to reflect her love for them and her propensity to send arrangements "in grand fashion".

And her legs were said to have been crossed at the ankles, to remember someone who was comfortable with being a strong woman.

On Tuesday, Franklinwore scarlet lip stick and ruby high heels and was dressed in red which was symbolic of her membership in the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, which fights for the rights of African American women.

Meanwhile its ornamental elements and sheer netting fabric paid homage to something she would wear onstage.

Sabrina Owens, Franklin's niece, who was among those organising the event, confirmed the dress was"something she would have selected for herself".

She said: "After all she gave to the world, I felt we needed to give her an appropriate send-off that would match her legacy.

"She loved the city of Detroit and the city of Detroit loved her."

Aretha's soaring voice also poured out from loudspeakers outside the museum, stirring fans arriving to pay their respects to sway and sing along and others to weep.

Franklin died last week at the age of 76 from pancreatic cancer in Detroit, where she began her career as a child singing gospel in the New Bethel Baptist Church choir.

Hundreds of music lovers slept on the sidewalk overnight to ensure they were among the first to say a farewell to the global star.

Officials made mourners put away their cell phones before viewing Aretha and quickly ushered them along.

Tammy Gibson, 49, of Chicago said she arrived about 5.30am.

She came alone but made fast friends with others who sang and reminisced.

Growing up, Gibson said she heard Franklin's music "playing all the time" by her parents, who "told me to go to bed it's an adult party."

Outside the museum, she said: "I know people are sad, but it's just celebrating people dancing and singing her music."

Indeed, a group of women were singing 'Freeway of Love.'

Franklin had been a constant in Gibson's life.

"I saw the gold-plated casket it dawned on me: She's gone, but her legacy and her music will live on forever."

Multiple life-sized posters of her flanked the entrance and exit of the building - which was soon mobbed with fans.

Museum board member Kelly Major Green said the goal was to create a dignified and respectful environment akin to a church, the place where Aretha got her start.

“What we wanted to do is be reflective of the Queen,” Ms Green said.

“It’s beautiful. She’s beautiful.”

The high-heel scarlet shoes, in particular, show “The Queen of Soul is diva to the end,” Ms Green said.

“She is just iconic. The way she loved and treated individuals, and she always remained down to earth,” said Mary Jones, who wore an 'I love Aretha' t-shirt and made the four-hour drive from Ohio to pay her respects.

"It’s unreal that I’m going to get to say goodbye to her now. It’s amazing.”

The Wright Museum previously hosted a similar public viewing for civil rights icon Rosa Parks after her 2005 death.

Aretha sang at Parks’ funeral and the singer will be entombed in the same cemetery as Parks.

It has now emerged that the mega-star did not leave a will - despite having tens of millions stashed in the bank.

Court documents show the 'I Say a Little Prayer ' legend had no will at the time of her death, reports US entertainment website TMZ.

The singer's four sons - Clarence, Edward, Teddy White Jr. and Kecalf - will now share equally in her estimated $80m estate, in accordance with Michigan state law.

Aretha's funeral is due to take place at 10am Eastern Standard Time, which is 3pm in the UK, when her body will be entombed at a family grave site.

It will be held at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, Michigan and her body will be entombed at the Woodlawn Cemetery.

The funeral will seethe legendary artist's family and closest friends say goodbye to the singer in the private event.

Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Holliday, Jennifer Hudson and Yolanda Adam are set to perform at the service, according to CNN.

Others performing areFaith Hill, Chaka Khan, classical artist Audrey DuBois Harris, soprano Alice McAllister Tillman, Franklin's son Edward Franklin, the Aretha Franklin Orchestra and the Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir.

Music producer Clive Davis is also planning a tribute concert to honour the legend at New York City's Madison Square Garden in November.

The singer was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but moved to Detroit when she was five.Rolling Stone magazine recently named her the greatest singer of all time.

Aretha’s dazzling music career included classic songs (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman and RESPECT.

The mum-of-four died surrounded by loved ones in the town where she grew up, publicist Gwendolyn Quinn announced.

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