Los Angeles - Stevie Wonder, Jennifer
Hudson and country singer Faith Hill will sing at the funeral of
Aretha Franklin in Detroit next week, her publicist said on
Thursday.
They will be joined by R&B singers Chaka Khan, Ron Isley,
Fantasia and Yolanda Adams at the funeral for the late Queen of
Soul, publicist Gwendolyn Quinn said in a statement.
Franklin, 76, died last week of pancreatic cancer in her
Detroit home. Her Aug. 31 funeral will be held at Detroit's
4,000-seat Greater Grace Temple, which was the venue for the
2005 funeral of civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
The funeral will be limited to family, friends, dignitaries
and special guests.
Thousands of members of the public are expected to pay their
respects to Franklin during three days of viewing of her casket
at Detroit's Museum of African-American History, and at the New
Bethel Baptist Church where a teenaged Franklin sang in the
gospel choir.
The 18-time Grammy-winning singer of hits like "Chain of
Fools" and "Respect" was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but grew up
in Detroit and retained strong links to the city.
Her father, the Rev. C.L. Franklin, was a minister at the
New Bethel Baptist Church for more than 30 years and Franklin
honed her singing skills in the church choir.
Franklin's second son, Edward Franklin, will also sing at
the funeral, along with the Aretha Franklin Orchestra and the
Aretha Franklin Choir, Quinn said.
Detroit news media on Thursday reported plans by Greater
Grace Temple church leaders to bring in dozens of pink Cadillacs
to line the streets for next Friday's service. Franklin sang
about cruising joyously in a pink Cadillac in her 1985 hit
"Freeway of Love."