• Bill Clinton, describing himself as an Aretha “groupie,” called Ms. Franklin the “composer of her own song.”
• More than 100 pink Cadillacs were part of the funeral procession to the church.
• Ariana Grande and Faith Hill were among the first singers to perform. Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Holliday are still to come.
DETROIT — Praised by presidents and pop stars, eulogized by more than a dozen preachers, and feted with a fleet of pink Cadillacs, Aretha Franklin was celebrated on Friday as a musical titan, an empowering feminist and an American icon during a marathon goodbye that showcased a generation of talent who drew inspiration from her.
Ms. Franklin, who died of pancreatic cancer two weeks ago at 76, was the “Queen of Soul,” one of the unimpeachable stars of American music. And her funeral, at a megachurch on the suburban-like outskirts of Detroit, was suitably regal, with tributes that were scheduled to go on for more than five hours by Bill Clinton, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, the basketball star Isaiah Thomas and others.
But the ceremony, a traditional “homegoing” event in front of thousands, also underscored Ms. Franklin’s roots in the Baptist church and in black culture. The church, Greater Grace Temple, with room for 4,000 people, had been the site of Rosa Parks’s funeral in 2005 — where Ms. Franklin was a featured performer.
“Thank you, Lord, for Aretha,” a local pastor, E.L. Branch, said in prayer. “She was first Detroit’s, then America’s, then the world’s.”
[Remembering Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul]
Inside the church doors, an entire wall was filled with floral displays from a host of well-wishers, including Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Tony Bennett, Don King, Diana Ross and the family of James Brown. Outside, more than 100 of the pink Cadillacs lined up, four abreast, after having served as part of the early morning funeral procession.
“Her song, the pink Cadillac song, meant so much to us, we use it at every event,” said Joy Bailey Greff, a Mary Kay cosmetics saleswoman who drove her pink Cadillac SUV for 14 hours from Alabama to be part of the procession. “She’s just an icon, a legend, and it’s an honor to just be part of something like this and to be able to give back after she’s given so much to people.”
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