The funeral of “Queen of Souls” Aretha Franklin will be held August 31 in a large church in his hometown of Detroit, confirmed Friday his agent, while tributes to the legendary singer died Thursday continued to flow.
In 60 years of career, the one that everyone nicknamed “Aretha” has influenced several generations of artists through planetary tubes like “Respect” (1967), “Natural Woman” (1968) or “I Say a Little Prayer” (1968).
Long battle with cancer
The city of Detroit, where the singer died Thursday at 76 years after a long battle with cancer, is preparing to pay tribute to his star over several days, at the height of the legend that she had become.
Funeral on August 31
On August 28 and 29, his remains are expected to be open to the public from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm at the Charles Wright Museum, dedicated to the history of black Americans, confirmed his agent, Gwendolyn Quinn. The funeral is scheduled for August 31 at the Greater Grace Temple, Detroit’s largest Pentecostal church, where the funeral of Rosa Parks, an icon of the civil rights struggle of black Americans, was held in 2005.
Guests handpicked
If the venue can accommodate up to 4,000 people, guests should be handpicked: family members, loved ones and celebrities from the music world or other personalities, such as former President Barack Obama, could be invited , said Friday the local daily, the Detroit Free Press. The singer will be buried in the city cemetery where her father and three siblings are buried, Gwendolyn Quinn said.
Tributes and meditation
Meanwhile, fans of the diva, who began as a nine-year-old gospel singer before demonstrating her four-octave talent, from R & B to opera, continued to show her admiration at the New Bethel Baptist Church on Friday. church of his father pastor. From the announcement Thursday of her death, she became a place of meditation. His admirers also paraded in front of the Motown museum, housed in the former studios of the record company of the same name, who planned to broadcast his music throughout the weekend. If Aretha Franklin has never recorded a record, his music has always been associated with Motown’s “sound”.
reactions
Many celebrities also wanted to salute this great artist. “It’s hard to imagine the world without her, not only was she a wonderful singer, but her commitment to civil rights had an indelible impact on the world,” tweeted actress and singer Barbra Streisand farewell to Aretha Franklin.
First woman at the Hall of Fame
The singer was in 1987 the first woman to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine put her at the top of her list of the 100 greatest singers of all time, men and women alike.
Clinton and Obama
Aretha Franklin had sung at the inauguration ceremonies of Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. The man who was the first black president in US history has paid him and his wife Michelle a strong tribute. “For more than six decades, every time she sang, we were all entitled to a divine glow,” they said in a written statement.
President Donald Trump hailed on Twitter “an exceptional woman who has benefited from a wonderful blessing from God, her voice,” saying she would continue to “inspire many generations to come.”
“Respect”, its greatest success
Of the dozens of songs that rose to the top 40, “Respect”, originally composed by Otis Redding, was to become the greatest success for this woman who became a mother before she was 13, and a hymn to feminism.