If you spent any time around Earline Franklin, you couldn’t miss the energy.
The longtime Detroiter, who had just turned 82 when she died Nov. 9, was gregarious and well-connected — but with a no-nonsense grit that served her well as she navigated a lengthy career in the entertainment industry.
A public memorial for Franklin will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Triumph Church, 2760 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit. (A family hour starts at 10:30 a.m.) The event will include performances by singer Brenda Corbett and bassist Ralphe Armstrong, along with remarks by people close to the family.
“And because my mother was all about life, we’re going to have what they would call a repast but what we consider a party,” said Cristal Franklin, daughter of Earline.
As the sister-in-law of Aretha Franklin, Earline worked closely with the Queen of Soul, often hitting the road as a personal assistant of sorts. A resident of Detroit’s Riverfront Towers, she became a regular caretaker when the ailing singer moved into the downtown complex before her 2018 death. Among her tasks: whipping up a daily morning smoothie for Aretha.
“It was a sisterhood, a friendship, a business relationship,” said Cristal Franklin. “She filled many roles in Aretha’s life.”
Earline Franklin learned the showbiz ropes after her 1971 marriage to Cecil Franklin, brother and longtime manager of Aretha. While together, Earline largely devoted herself to motherhood; following his death in 1989, she began paving her own way in the music business and by 1996 had formed the firm Entertainment’s Finest & Associates.
Armed with her people skills, business acumen and Franklin family connections, she became a prominent figure on the Detroit scene, managing artists and promoting shows in Michigan and beyond, including events featuring artists such as Freddie Jackson, Ashford & Simpson, Roy Ayers, Angela Bofill and others.
She also helped stage events for companies such as DTE Energy and Xfinity. A born networker, Franklin continued to work up through her death, connecting artists with promoters and projects.
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“My mother was the super-link to anyone,” said Cristal Franklin.
She also continued to manage several acts, including a Dutch singer she’d been scheduled to visit this month in Amsterdam.
“I just admired her spirit,” said her niece Sabrina Owens. “She had a constitution and work ethic that were unbelievable. If there was something she wanted to do, she was unstoppable. Even at her age, she was still out there working and loving what she was doing.”
Though she moved to West Palm Beach several years ago, Franklin remained a familiar sight in Detroit, spending summers here and working closely behind the scenes with Shahida Mausi, operator of the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre on Detroit’s riverfront.
Following Aretha Franklin’s death in August 2018, Earline Franklin and Mausi collaborated to produce the globally viewed tribute concert at the venue (then Chene Park Amphitheatre) the night before the Queen of Soul’s funeral.
Owens, then overseeing the estate and funeral planning, recalls enlisting them for the concert production.
“I told them: ‘I trust you to do what you do.’ And they did it big-time,” Owens said.
Before her death, Earline Franklin had begun pre-production work on a planned 2024 concert to be called “All the Queen’s Men” — a tribute to Aretha possibly featuring male singers such as Keith Washington.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., she moved to Detroit upon her marriage to Cecil and quickly became a cornerstone of the Franklin family. Her work ethic and creative instincts were already in place: She had trained in ballet for 12 years at D.C.’s Jones-Haywood Dance School and studied modeling and singing.
Franklin’s passing followed a fall at her Florida home in October. While she was rehabbing, doctors discovered cancer that had spread through much of her body, and she died less than two weeks after the diagnosis.
“She was just actively pursuing life, without knowing anything of this sort was on the horizon,” said Cristal Franklin.
Along with Saturday’s memorial event, Earline Franklin will be honored next summer at the Aretha amphitheater with a Celebration of Life, on a date to be announced.
Franklin is survived by her daughter, Cristal Franklin; two granddaughters, Mashawn Clarke and Brooklin Hardiman; her sisters Jeannine Graham, Robin Graham and Linda Lou Macall; and many nieces and nephews.