The 68-year-old veteran singer performs 'The Lord's Player' on his harmonica before launching into his hit song 'As'.
- Sep 1, 2018
AceShowbiz - Stevie Wonder moved everyone's hearts when he closed out Aretha Franklin's star-studded funeral at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on Friday, August 31. Besides performing, the veteran singer also delivered a brief eulogy remembering the late Queen of Soul.
The "Isn't She Lovely" hitmaker kicked off his performance by playing a rendition of "The Lord's Player" on his harmonica before delivering his speech. He talked about how Franklin brought so many influences on people's lives and hoped that he could work together with her again when the time finally came to him.
Saying that the two had always wanted to work on a song together after Franklin sang his "Until You Came Back to Me", Wonder added, "I think of every time we talked about that, and we talked about doing another song together on the next album or two. But you know what? I look forward to that time when I'm so blessed to be with her again, to write the song that God wants me to write, will be the best ever."
Following his speech, he then took a seat in front of an electric piano and launched into "As", a track featured on his 1976 double album "Songs in the Key of Life". The 68-year-old singer noted that the song was the perfect song to convey what everyone felt and wanted to express following Franklin's death.
Elsewhere during the service, Gladys Knight surprisingly took the stage to perform two songs "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Jennifer Holliday also performed a recessional tribute as pallbearers removed Franklin's coffin from the church en route to her final resting place.
Rocking a bright purple suit emblazoned with rhinestones, she performed "Climbing Higher Mountains". She was joined by Aretha Franklin Celebration Choir.
Franklin died on August 16 after battling pancreatic cancer. She was 76.
