Billboards along southbound I-85 near Pelham Road memorialized Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul” who died Thursday at age 76 of pancreatic cancer.
Two “memorial” boards were displayed digitally by Fairway Outdoors. One featured Franklin with the text, “Forever & ever, you’ll stay in our hearts”. A second has the letters “r e s p e c t” with an image of Franklin between the s and p.
“We’ve done several of these type memorial boards, for a wide variety of folks, over the years as I think it in some small way helps people mourn and remember those who have passed,” stated Jimmy Parker, Art Director for Fairway Outdoors Advertising.
“We’ve done boards for folks as diverse as Muhammad Ali, Billy Graham, Pat Summitt, Prince and many, many more,” Parker stated.
Parker said the memorial boards will remain for a few days.
Franklin died at her home in Detroit — "one of the darkest moments of our lives," her family said, in a statement released to The Associated Press by publicist Gwendolyn Quinn.
"We have been deeply touched by the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from close friends, supporters and fans all around the world," the family said.
Franklin’s classic songs included "Think," 'I Say a Little Prayer" and her signature song, "Respect," and stood as a cultural icon around the globe.
She recorded hundreds of tracks and had dozens of hits over the span of a half century, including 20 that reached No. 1 on the R&B charts. But her reputation was defined by an extraordinary run of top 10 smashes in the late 1960s, from the morning-after bliss of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," to the wised-up "Chain of Fools" to her unstoppable call for "Respect."
Her records sold millions of copies and the music industry couldn't honor her enough. Franklin won 18 Grammy awards. In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.