Hundreds gathered at Detroit’s Greater Grace Church on Friday morning to honor the legendary Aretha Franklin, who died on Aug. 16 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Outside the ceremony pink Cadillacs lined the street, referencing her ’80s hit “Freeway of Love.” Inside, floral arrangements from Diana Ross, Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand greeted mourners in the sanctuary’s entrance. White and pink flowers were assembled at the front of the church; the words “A Celebration Fit for the Queen” were projected above the golden casket.
In the hour before the service began, public figures ranging from the Reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to Motown legend Martha Reeves and Faith Hill milled about inside the church as a gospel group performed gentle, soulful instrumentals and an announcer gently but firmly told the mourners to take their seats.
At around 10:10 a.m. local time, the audience hushed as former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived at the service. Shortly after, the announcer admonished the crowd that anyone seen taking cellphone pictures — which some people had been doing flagrantly before the service — would be asked to leave.
As the music began at around 10:25, Ariana Grande and fiancé Pete Davidson posed for photos with the former president. Celebs ranging from Tyler Perry and Whoopi Goldberg to Louis Farrakhan were seen chatting and smiling for photographs in the moments before the service officially began.
The gospel group’s second song was a horn-driven version of Franklin’s arrangement of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” as featured on her 1971 “Live at the Fillmore West” album. It was immediately followed by a snippet of her 1968 hit “I Say a Little Prayer.” In the hours before the service began, the choir sang powerful versions of hymns and traditional gospel songs like “Marvelous” and “I Shall Wear a Crown.”
At around 11 a.m. family members, along with Motown legend Smokey Robinson, began their viewing — some were visibly distraught as they passed the open gold casket. One woman wore a white hat with a giant bow on it, in homage to the one Franklin wore when she sang at Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009.
The ceremony got underway about 90 minutes behind schedule. “It took us a little time to get in here, but I don’t believe the Queen would have had it any other way,” the church’s pastor said in his opening welcoming remarks. “You cannot celebrate the legacy of an icon in a couple hours.”
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