Pearl Bailey’s Mourners Jam Into Church

Mourners wound around the block today to say farewell to singer Pearl Bailey.

Deliverance Evangelical Evangelistic Church opened its doors at 10 a.m. for the viewing. The service and burial was set for later today.

“I think they should have opened the doors last night,” said the Rev. Steven Parks, the West Oak Lane Church of God associate pastor who was among the first inside.

Miss Bailey was 72 when she died Friday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after collapsing in her hotel room. The singer was recuperating from knee surgery. A preliminary autopsy report indicated that she died of heart disease.

She made her debut in Philadelphia at age 15 by singing “Poor Butterfly” in an amateur contest. Among her best-known performances was her lead role in the black version of the musical “Hello, Dolly!” in the late 1960s.

“Miss Bailey was one of the greatest recording artists and one of the most talented people in the world,” remarked James Brooks, a Philadelphia native now living in Los Angeles, as he walked into the church.

Brooks said he had met the singer numerous times.