‘We’re goin’ riding on the Freeway of Love’: Michigan names major roadway in honor of Queen of Soul
The R&B icon sang about cruising on the road in a pink Cadilac and now we know where it is: Detroit's Lodge Freeway, which Michigan's governor has now made official
A major roadway in Detroit will soon become the “Freeway of Love” legendary Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin sang about in her 1985 hit now that Michigan’s governor has signed off on legislation to make it a reality.
The legendary singer will be remembered in her hometown with the “Aretha L. Franklin Memorial Highway” which encompasses a stretch of the city’s Lodge Freeway (M-10) the Detroit Free Press reports.
READ MORE: 3 handwritten wills found in Aretha Franklin’s home
On Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation, paying homage to the late soul singer whose chart-topping hit “Freeway of Love” from her platinum-selling album “Who’s Zooming Who?” that earned her a Grammy award and has become a Detroit anthem.
The singer succumbed to pancreatic cancer last year and during her funeral more than 100 pink Cadillacs, the vehicle highlighted in the song, followed her in the funeral procession.
READ MORE: Aretha Franklin’s Detroit mansion sells for $300K
Whitmer said in a statement that Franklin’s “creativity and voice contributed to our musical and cultural history in Michigan.”
“I’m honored to be able to dedicate a portion of the M-10 freeway to remember Aretha and all she did for our state.”
Franklin is being remembered in a number of ways this year. In fact, fans missing Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin will get to enjoy volumes of her work when National Geographic devotes the third season of its anthology series Genius to her, according to Deadline.
READ MORE: ‘Genius’ third season devoted to the Queen of Soul
Pulitzer-winning playwright and screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks will be the executive producer and showrunner, Deadline reports. Clive Davis, longtime Franklin collaborator, and Atlantic Records chairman Craig Kallman will executive produce, according to the news organization. The project is being spearheaded by Brian Grazer of Imagine.
The idea for a focus on Franklin emerged after the singer’s death on Aug. 16, with the major sticking point being whether the show would be able to gain access to her music, Deadline Hollywood reported.
Will you be riding on the Freeway of Love?
