美国国家公共电台 NPR A Funeral Fit For A 'Queen'

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

A weeklong tribute for the Queen of Soul came to a close in Detroit yesterday. Thousands turned out for Aretha Franklin's funeral at Greater Grace Temple to celebrate a superstar and her musical legacy 1. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Detroit.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WALK IN THE LIGHT")

ARETHA FRANKLIN ORCHESTRA: (Singing) Walk in the light. Walk in the light.

CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE 2: This was a celebration, a daylong tribute full of stories about Aretha Franklin's impact. There was politics and humor but, most of all, music.

ARETHA FRANKLIN ORCHESTRA: (Singing) Of mercy shine bright. Shine on.

CORLEY: There was a who's who with big names in music, sports and politics - The Clark Sisters, Ariana Grande, former basketball star Isiah Thomas and former President Bill Clinton. The missing voice was Aretha Franklin's. The Reverend Al Sharpton.

AL SHARPTON: She was bathed in the black church. And she took the black church downtown and made folks that didn't know what the Holy Ghost was shout in the middle of a concert.

CORLEY: All throughout the week, fans came from around the country to pay their respects to the Grammy Award-winning megastar as Franklin lay in repose 3. At the funeral, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said for more than half a century, Aretha's family had a huge impact on the city. Franklin's father was a prominent minister who organized one of the largest civil rights marches in Detroit. And then came Aretha.

MIKE DUGGAN: Each time she soared, it felt like the people of Detroit soared with her because she never lost her connection.

CORLEY: And the mayor brought the crowd to its feet when he said a popular park would be renamed for Franklin. There was a sense of history in the room as speakers recognized the woman with the legendary 4 voice for a life full of singing and activism - like the time she traveled with singer Harry 5 Belafonte to raise money for Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Reverend JoAnn Watson, a close friend, says Franklin was especially devoted 6 and generous to her hometown.

JOANN WATSON: She would ride the streets of Detroit, taking note of people who have special needs, quietly dispensing 7 donations.

CORLEY: There were lots of bittersweet moments like that. Ushers 8 roamed the aisles 9 with boxes of tissues. Franklin's reach was worldwide. She sang for presidents, to former ones. Barack Obama and George Bush sent letters. And the crowd laughed when President Clinton played Aretha Franklin's song "Think" on his cellphone. For Franklin's family, the loss is much more intimate. Granddaughter Victorie Franklin said when she was young, she didn't recognize the fame of a woman others consider music royalty 10. But that changed.

VICTORIE FRANKLIN: And when I would go to her shows and watch her sing, it would be the best feeling in the world. Nothing sounded better to me than the way my grandma sings. Her voice made you feel something. You felt every word, every note, every emotion in the songs she sang. Her voice peace.

CORLEY: One of the most poignant 11 moments came from singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson. He met Aretha Franklin when he was 8 years old. He said he wasn't expecting to say goodbye.

SMOKEY ROBINSON: (Singing) I'll miss you, my buddy 12. I'll miss you, my friend. I know that my love for you will never end, will never end.

CORLEY: Aretha Franklin had a voice that stirred the soul and changed popular music forever. In a nod to her hit song Freeway of Love, pink Cadillacs led the procession to Woodlawn Cemetery 13, where she is now buried. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Detroit.