Photo: DetroitFreePress.com
The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was born in Detroit, Michigan, and it is here that she will be buried as well. The singer died last week from pancreatic cancer, and fans can pay their final respects in a public viewing that precedes the funeral.
Early Tuesday, the singer’s body was transported to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Midtown Detroit, where it will be remain for 2 days for the public viewing. Fans slept on the sidewalks to make sure they get to see her one last time.
Those who did also got to see the car she was transported in for her final ride: a vintage, 2-door, 3-speed 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse. It’s the same car that also carried the bodies of her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin in 1984 and of civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005.
It’s a car fit for the Queen of Soul. According to the Detroit Free Press, it belongs to the Swanson Funeral Home and it’s only taken out on special occasions, upon request. It has been with the funeral home since 1958, when it became open for business.
Though Steve Arthur, a driver with 30 years of experience, is usually the one behind the LaSalle wheel, on this particular occasion, it was the president of the funeral home, O’Neil D. Swanson who drove the car through the weeping crowds of fans.
“I’m the one that drives it, but I didn’t drive it this morning,” Arthur tells the publication. “You need to know how to drive a stick. The shifter is in the steering column.”
Jonathan Klinger, spokesman for Hagerty Classic Insurance, a company that specializes in classic cars, adds that the classic LaSalle is the perfect ride for the final goodbye for a woman like Aretha, who lived and breathed for her home city.
“It was a very cool car and absolutely speaks of Detroit,” he says. “The LaSalle from that era had a perfect combination of sportiness and luxury. It’s just very fitting that a classic icon of Detroit, Aretha, was driven by a classic automotive icon of Detroit.”
Those who did also got to see the car she was transported in for her final ride: a vintage, 2-door, 3-speed 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse. It’s the same car that also carried the bodies of her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin in 1984 and of civil rights icon Rosa Parks in 2005.
It’s a car fit for the Queen of Soul. According to the Detroit Free Press, it belongs to the Swanson Funeral Home and it’s only taken out on special occasions, upon request. It has been with the funeral home since 1958, when it became open for business.
Though Steve Arthur, a driver with 30 years of experience, is usually the one behind the LaSalle wheel, on this particular occasion, it was the president of the funeral home, O’Neil D. Swanson who drove the car through the weeping crowds of fans.
“I’m the one that drives it, but I didn’t drive it this morning,” Arthur tells the publication. “You need to know how to drive a stick. The shifter is in the steering column.”
Jonathan Klinger, spokesman for Hagerty Classic Insurance, a company that specializes in classic cars, adds that the classic LaSalle is the perfect ride for the final goodbye for a woman like Aretha, who lived and breathed for her home city.
“It was a very cool car and absolutely speaks of Detroit,” he says. “The LaSalle from that era had a perfect combination of sportiness and luxury. It’s just very fitting that a classic icon of Detroit, Aretha, was driven by a classic automotive icon of Detroit.”
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