DETROIT – Star-studded and exhilarating -- but with the warmth and love of family.
That is how the Queen of Soul was celebrated Thursday night in the city she called home.
More than 6,000 people turned out to watch 30 performers in a free concert in honor of Aretha Franklin. The tickets were free, but limited -- and when they were put on the market by the vendor, they were all accounted for in minutes. They literally were the hottest tickets in town -- but just a prelude to Friday's funeral.
On Friday at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple, thousands more will turn out for Franklin's memorial service. The invitation-only ceremony will see the likes of former President Bill Clinton, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and LeBron James offer condolences. Songs will be performed by Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill and Houston's own Yolanda Adams, among others.
"We're here to celebrate what she did for all of us," says A. Curtis Farrow, the man in charge of the funeral.
The Emmy award-winning producer has led logistics on the funeral services of Whitney Houston and other celebrities. Farrow says, though, that this will be a memorial service for those who loved the Queen of Soul -- not just a performance.
"You have to continually remind people, this is somebody's mom," says Farrow. "This is somebody's sister, you know what I'm saying? This is somebody's aunt. This is a person here. It's not just this icon. It's a real person."
On Friday, Seven Mile Road outside the church will be lined with pink Cadillacs, a nod to Franklin's 1985 hit single "Freeway of Love," in which she bellows, "We're going ridin' on the freeway of love in my pink Cadillac."
It is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.