Sapp wouldn’t reveal what he will perform Friday, but said every song is one picked out by Franklin. Robinson also didn’t share what he will say, but that’s for a different reason.
“I do not plan anything (with) someone I love like that,” Robinson, a Motown great who grew up with Franklin, told The Associated Press. “I love her. She was my longest friend.”
Robinson said he will just make it “personal,” since he remained close with Franklin until the end. He said they “talked all the time,” the last just a couple weeks before she became too ill to speak.
“We saw all of our other close friends go,” Robinson said. “We used to talk about that — we saw a lot of soldiers go.”
Amid the sadness of these days, Robinson can find uplift — and believes Franklin’s legacy is secure. A new generation of singers like Grande who are inspired by the late Queen of Soul is just the beginning.
“There are some girls who haven’t been born yet … who will be inspired by Aretha,” he said.
Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece, told the AP she started putting thoughts to paper about events earlier this year as her aunt’s health failed. Since Franklin’s Aug. 16 death at 76, Owens said a close group she described as “Aretha’s angels” have “worked tirelessly” and have been guided by a single question: “What would Aretha want?”
“After all she gave to the world, I felt we needed to give her an appropriate send-off that would match her legacy,” Owens said.
Article Appeared @https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/08/31/aretha-franklin-funeral-fuse-spirit-with-star-power