Fans pay their last respects to Aretha Franklin

Fans in the United States are paying their last respects to soul singer Aretha Franklin, who died on August 16 at the age of 76.

On Tuesday Franklin's body, dressed in a red outfit and red high heels, lay in a casket surrounded by pink and purple roses at the Charles Wright Museum of American History in Detroit.

Franklin's powerful vocals sounded from loudspeakers as fans — some weeping, some singing along — lined up to say goodbye.

The Delta Sigma Theta sorority, of which Franklin was an honorary member, held a private ceremony in her honor in the museum on Tuesday evening before a second day of public viewing began on Wednesday morning.

A fitting send-off

Franklin's niece Sabrina Owens said those who had organized the public viewing wanted to give Franklin a send-off that "would match her legacy."

Fans have traveled from all over the country to catch a last glimpse of the Queen of Soul. Tammy Gibson, who was already queuing up at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, told the Associated Press that she had come alone from Chicago but had made friends with others in the line as they sang and reminisced together.

A week-long celebration of Franklin's life is being held in Detroit, the city where she grew up, and will culminate on Friday when the singer is laid to rest at the city's Greater Grace Temple. The service is expected to include performances from the likes of Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson and Ariana Grande, as well as gospel singers Marvin Sapp and the Clark Sisters.

rls/eg (Reuters/AP)