--- title: Aretha Franklin's Funeral Marked with Pink Cadillac Parade description: Dozens of pink Cadillacs lined the streets of Detroit in honor of late singer Aretha Franklin on the day of her funeral. canonical: https://time.com/5384067/aretha-pink-cadillacs/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-31T15:00:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:54:37.833Z og:title: Aretha Franklin's Funeral Kicked Off With a Tribute From Over 100 Pink Cadillacs og:description: Pink Cadillacs lined the Detroit streets to honor the late singer og:url: https://time.com/5384067/aretha-pink-cadillacs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bfa8ee5de7f88e6/6989392f929fad6621bf178b/pink-cadillac-aretha-franklin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: ENTERTAINMENT-US-MUSIC-ARETHA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Aretha Franklin's Funeral Kicked Off With a Tribute From Over 100 Pink Cadillacs twitter:description: Pink Cadillacs lined the Detroit streets to honor the late singer twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bfa8ee5de7f88e6/6989392f929fad6621bf178b/pink-cadillac-aretha-franklin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Aretha Franklin's Funeral Kicked Off With a Tribute From Over 100 Pink Cadillacs  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 31, 2018 3:00 PM UTC  A pink Cadillac is parked at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on August 29, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. A pink Cadillac is parked at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on August 29, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan.ANGELA WEISS—AFP/Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 31, 2018 3:00 PM UTC Leave it to [Aretha Franklin](http://time.com/5383907/aretha-franklin-casket-arrives-ahead-of-funeral/) to go out in style. On Friday, notable figures and family gathered in Detroit to celebrate and honor the [late singer](http://time.com/5380500/aretha-franklin-public-viewing-gold-casket/) for her funeral — and they were welcomed by a gathering of more than 100 pink Cadillacs that lined the street leading to Greater Grace Temple, a tip of the hat to the famous diva. Franklin had a soft spot for pink Cadillacs: “We goin’ ridin’ on the freeway of love in my pink Cadillac,” she sang in her 1985 single “Freeway of Love.” The Cadillac tribute — organized by Crisette Ellis, wife of the Greater Grace Temple pastor — was inspired not only by that evocative lyric, but also by the manner in which police cars line streets to pay respects to their own fallen, [according to NPR](https://www.npr.org/2018/08/29/642871634/pink-cadillacs-will-line-up-for-aretha-franklin-s-funeral). “My husband said, ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could have a sea of pink Cadillacs parked on Seven Mile Road to greet Ms. Aretha Franklin as she arrives?'” Ellis [told NPR](https://www.npr.org/2018/08/29/642871634/pink-cadillacs-will-line-up-for-aretha-franklin-s-funeral). And that’s exactly what guests were greeted to on Friday morning as they arrived for the funeral. Dignitaries including the Rev. Al Sharpton and former President Bill Clinton are slated to speak, while singers like [Ariana Grande](http://time.com/5369270/ariana-grande-aretha-franklin-tonight-show/) and Jennifer Hudson will pay musical tribute to the late, great superstar. > [](https://twitter.com/jaygraymatters/status/1035495276319043584) > [](https://twitter.com/OMAROSA/status/1035510253167812608) > [](https://twitter.com/naima/status/1035526913090043905) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5384067/aretha-pink-cadillacs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5384067/aretha-pink-cadillacs/"},"headline":"Aretha Franklin's Funeral Kicked Off With a Tribute From Over 100 Pink Cadillacs","datePublished":"2018-08-31T15:00:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:54:37.833Z","description":"The \"Freeway of Love\" singer is getting a pink Cadillac tribute","url":"https://time.com/5384067/aretha-pink-cadillacs/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities","Aretha Franklin","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bfa8ee5de7f88e6/6989392f929fad6621bf178b/pink-cadillac-aretha-franklin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9bfa8ee5de7f88e6/6989392f929fad6621bf178b/pink-cadillac-aretha-franklin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ENTERTAINMENT-US-MUSIC-ARETHA","caption":"ENTERTAINMENT-US-MUSIC-ARETHA","creditText":"ANGELA WEISS—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5384067/aretha-pink-cadillacs/","name":"Aretha Franklin's Funeral Kicked Off With a Tribute From Over 100 Pink Cadillacs"}}]}] ```