Country music veteran Faith Hill paid tribute to Aretha Franklin at her Detroit funeral on Friday. She gave a moving rendition of the traditional hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Franklin died August 16th after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 76.
Franklin herself recorded the hymn live in 1972 at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. You can find the Queen of Soul's version on her 1972 landmark album Amazing Grace.
Standing in front of the expansive gospel choir that backed her up, Hill poured her heart into a version of the church staple. Seated behind her were several of the additional participants in the service, including former president Bill Clinton, Reverend Jesse Jackson and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Hill and her husband Tim McGraw opened several of the shows on their 2017-2018 Soul2Soul Tour with a performance of "I Knew You Were Waiting for Me," the Number One pop hit Franklin scored with George Michael in 1987. After Franklin's passing, Hill shared a photo of herself with the music icon, accompanied by a message that began, "The choir of angels now have the greatest voice of all time to lead, praise and join in to sing before Jesus."
