Detroit (WWJ) -- Mr. Song Millinery on Woodward Avenue in Detroit has struck a sour note with Aretha Franklin. It was her inaugural hat that caused a flood of orders from around the world. And now, the Queen of Soul wants royal treatment from store owner Luke Song for wearing it.
"I think that I should be getting big time royalties from him. That's what I think," said Franklin in an interview with WWJ's Vickie Thomas at Sunday's NAACP Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner.
Aretha said she's not even getting free hats for all the publicity that her heady accessory generated in January. "I was disappointed when I said, 'am I getting all my hats free now? He said, 'well...uh....' I said, 'oh no you won't!'"
Franklin chose a custom-made black hat with a giant bow that wowed the crowed as she sang "America the Beautiful" at the Jan. 20 ceremony in Washington, D.C. The hat retailed for $179, though hers cost about three times that.
At Sunday's event, Franklin wore a pink hat that was not designed by Mr. Song. Song, meantime, is making plans to move his shop from Detroit to Southfield.
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