| Woodlawn Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 Woodlawn Mausoleum | |
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| Details | |
| Established | 1895 |
| Location | 19975 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan |
| Size | 140 acres (57 ha) |
Woodlawn Cemetery is a cemetery located at 19975 Woodward Avenue, opposite the former Michigan State Fairgrounds, between 7 Mile Road and 8 Mile Road, in Detroit, Michigan.
The cemetery was established in 1895 and immediately attracted some of the most notable names in the city. [1] The grounds encompass 140 acres (57 ha) and were planned by civil engineer Mason L. Brown and horticulturalist Frank Eurich. At the time of the first burial in 1896, Woodlawn was outside the city limits. Eurich also developed Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo. [2]
Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Queen of Soul", she was twice named by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest singer of all time.
Erma Vernice Franklin was an American gospel and soul singer. Franklin recorded the original version of "Piece of My Heart", written and produced by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns in 1967, for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award. A cover version of the same song was recorded the following year by Big Brother and the Holding Company, with lead vocals by Janis Joplin. Franklin was the elder sister of American singer/musician Aretha Franklin.
The Spinners are an American rhythm and blues vocal group that formed in Ferndale, Michigan, in 1954. They enjoyed a string of hit singles and albums during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly with producer Thom Bell. The group continues to tour, without any original members, after Henry Fambrough retired in 2023.
Levi Stubbs was an American baritone singer, widely known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, that released a variety of Motown hit records during the 1960s and 1970s. He was noted for his powerful, emotional, dramatic. singing style. In 1990, Stubbs was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Tops.
James Joseph Couzens was an American businessman, politician and philanthropist. He served as mayor of Detroit (1919–1922) and U.S. Senator from Michigan (1922–1936). Prior to entering politics he served as vice president and general manager of the Ford Motor Company.
Henry Lee Fambrough was an American vocalist, known for being a member of the R&B quintet The Spinners from 1954 until his retirement in April 2023. He was the last surviving original member of The Spinners from 2013 until his death.
Carolyn Ann Franklin was an American singer-songwriter. Besides her own musical success, Franklin was best known as the daughter of prominent Detroit preacher and civil rights activist C. L. Franklin and the younger sister of American singer/musician Aretha Franklin.
Renaldo "Obie" Benson was an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member and the bass singer of Motown group the Four Tops, which he joined in 1953 and continued to perform with for over five decades, until April 8, 2005.
John Francis Dodge was an American automobile manufacturing pioneer and co-founder of Dodge Brothers Company.
Benjamin "BeBe" Winans is an American gospel and R&B singer from Detroit, Michigan. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine albums, seven with his sister CeCe as BeBe & CeCe Winans and one with three Winans brothers.
John Blaisdell Corliss was an American attorney, historian, and Republican politician from the city of Detroit, Michigan. He served as Detroit City Attorney for four years and represented the city in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1895 to 1903.
Alfred Lucking was an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, and was general counsel for the Ford Motor Company and the Henry Ford interests.
Clarence LaVaughn Franklin was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist. Known as the man with the "Million-Dollar Voice", Franklin served as the pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit from 1946 until he was shot and wounded in 1979. Franklin was the father of the American singer and songwriter Aretha Franklin. He was also the father of five other children, including Vaughn Franklin, Erma Franklin, Cecil Franklin, Carolyn Franklin and Carol Ellan.
Carl May Weideman was a naval officer, politician and jurist from the U.S. state of Michigan.
The Four Tops are an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1953 as the Four Aims. They were one of the most commercially successful American pop music groups of the 1960s and helped propel Motown Records to international fame. The group's repertoire has incorporated elements of soul, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Lead singer Levi Stubbs, along with backing vocalists Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton remained together in the group for over four decades, performing until 1997 without a change in personnel. Along with fellow Motown groups the Miracles, the Marvelettes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Temptations, and the Supremes, the Four Tops helped to establish the "Motown sound"; pop-friendly soul and R&B with a clean, polished production quality. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most other male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by tenors.
Northern Senior High School was a public four-year high school located on the north end of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The school was a part of the Detroit Public Schools district. By the latter part of the 2000s, Northern Senior High School was cited for closure as well as several other local high schools in the Detroit School District. The Detroit International Academy is now housed in the building that was formerly known as Northern Senior High School. When Northern existed, it served a portion of New Center. It was founded in 1916.
Matilda Dodge Wilson was an American politician and heiress who was the 43rd Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. Ranked as one of the wealthiest women in the world, she was the widow of John Francis Dodge, who co-founded the Dodge motor car company in Detroit with his brother Horace Elgin Dodge. She co-founded the Oakland campus of Michigan State University, now Oakland University, with her husband Alfred Wilson, and John A. Hannah. The new university was built on her 1,400-acre (5.7 km2) estate, Meadow Brook Farms.
Morris Ervin Broadnax, sometimes credited as Luvel Broadnax, was an American songwriter for Motown in the 1960s, most notably working with Stevie Wonder with whom, along with Clarence Paul, he co-wrote Aretha Franklin's hit "Until You Come Back to Me ".
Theodore Richard White was an American businessman, songwriter, music manager and producer from Detroit, Michigan.
...and he was laid to rest Friday afternoon at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Fambrough was interred Saturday afternoon at Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery...
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