
The Queen of Soul came home to Detroit. Aretha Franklin — raised on the city’s near west side, discovered singing gospel at her father C.L. Franklin’s New Bethel Baptist Church — is entombed in Woodlawn’s main mausoleum, a few miles from where she first learned what a voice could do. When she died in 2018, her funeral stretched past eight hours and drew mourners and legends from around the world; the pink Cadillacs lined up outside were a city’s way of saying goodbye.
She’s one of the reasons Woodlawn reads like a Motown family reunion — Jamerson, Stubbs, Benson and Ruffin are all here too. Pay your respects at the cemetery, then go put “Respect” on, loud. On our list.
Main Mausoleum, 19975 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48203, USA