Aretha Franklin: I’m Retiring This Year

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Aretha Franklin

Is Aretha Franklin winding down her storied career? It would seem that way, according to a news report. The singer told a Detroit TV station that she will retire from touring this year. According to an interview with WDIV Local 4, an NBC-affiliated TV station, Franklin said, “I must tell you, I am retiring this year. This will be my last year. I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.”

The Queen of Soul, who turns 75 next month, clarified that she will do “some select things, maybe one a month, for six months out of the year.” But whether she will also quit making recordings was left up in the air. Franklin announced that she will head into the studio in September, with no less than fellow Detroit native Stevie Wonder producing several songs on the album, which will feature only original songs.

Speaking of her impending retirement, Franklin said, “I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from, and where it is now. I’ll be pretty much satisfied, but I’m not going to go anywhere and just sit down and do nothing. That wouldn’t be good either.

If she does leave show business, Franklin’s place in the history will be assured. Since she first placed a single on the Billboard chart in 1961 (“Won’t Be Long,” on Columbia Records), she’s racked up an amazing 88 chart singles, including, of course, such timeless hits as “Respect,” “Chain of Fools” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” on Atlantic Records in the ’60s.

She’s also had 46 chart albums and has won every conceivable award and honor possible, playing for presidents, winning an armload of Grammys, early induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors, National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Last year, Franklin cancelled a series of concerts due to health issues. She is scheduled to perform at the premiere for a new Clive Davis documentary in New York on April 19. Tickets for other dates are available here and here.

Watch Aretha perform at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015.