Dates announced for Aretha Franklin's visitation, funeral services in Detroit Funeral services to be held Aug. 31 at Greater Grace Temple.
Franklin's body will lie in repose from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 28 and Aug. 29 at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, which is located at 315 East Warren Avenue in Detroit.
The funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Aug. 31 at Greater Grace Temple, which is located at 23500 West 7 Mile Road in Detroit.
It will be a four-day event to celebrate her life.
For two days, Franklin's body will lie in repose at Charles H. Wright Museum for African American History. The viewing will be open to the public.
The funeral will be held at Greater Grace Temple and will only be for close family and friends. Organizers are working on a musical tribute with major recording artists. The venue is still being decided.
Right now, Franklin's body is being held at Swanson Funeral Home in Detroit.
View all Aretha Franklin coverage here.
By Katherine J. Wu
Aretha Franklin was no one’s understudy. But when the Queen of Soul took the stage at the 1998 Grammy Awards, she was not the singer audiences expected. At the eleventh hour, operatic legend Luciano Pavarotti had called to cancel his long-awaited headliner performance of “Nessun dorma” (None Shall Sleep) due to illness—and with no warning or preparation, Franklin agreed to step in.
It was neither her genre nor her typical vocal range. But Pavarotti was Franklin’s dear friend, and she had performed a heartfelt tribute to him earlier that week. With only 20 minutes notice, Grammy producers burst into Franklin’s dressing room with an outrageous request—and moments later, they were anxiously ushering her on stage. Read More Here
Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. She began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father, C. L. Franklin, was minister. In 1960, at the age of 18, she embarked on a secular career, recording for Columbia Records but achieving only modest success.
After signing to Atlantic Records in 1967, Franklin achieved commercial acclaim and success with songs such as "Respect", "Chain of Fools", "Think", "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)", and "Spanish Harlem".
By the end of the 1960s she was being called "The Queen of Soul". Franklin recorded acclaimed albums such as I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967), Lady Soul (1968), Young, Gifted and Black (1972) and Amazing Grace (1972), before experiencing problems with her record company by the mid-1970s.
After her father was shot in 1979, she left Atlantic and signed with Arista Records, finding success with the albums Jump to It (1982) and Who's Zoomin' Who? (1985), and her part in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.
On August 13, 2018, Franklin was reported to be gravely ill at her home in Riverfront Towers, Detroit. She was reported to be under hospice care and surrounded by friends and family. Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson, and ex-husband Glynn Turman, among others, visited her on her deathbed. Franklin died at her home on August 16, 2018, aged 76. The cause was reported to be pancreatic cancer.
Aretha Franklin's family continues to coordinate memorial and funeral plans following her death Thursday morning in Detroit.
Details will be announced in coming days, likely early next week, said Gwendolyn Quinn, spokeswoman for the singer's family. Multiple events will be held in Detroit, Quinn said.
Arrangements are being handled by Swanson Funeral Home of Detroit.