Aretha Franklin Announces Retirement, Plans to Release Final Album
Music

The 74-year-old soul legend is stepping out of music industry later this year, but plans to release one more album with help from Stevie Wonder.

AceShowbiz - Aretha Franklin has made a shocking announcement. Speaking to Detroit TV station WDIV Local 4 on Tuesday, February 7, the soul legend said she decided to retire from music industry later this year.

"I must tell you, I am retiring this year," she said. "I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now." However, fans should not panic as Aretha would still be open to a small number of public engagements. "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... [I'll be open] to some select things, manly one a month, for six months out of the year.

The 74-year-old legend revealed that she wanted to spend more time with family and her grandchildren, who are leaving for college this year. She said that it was difficult for her to announce the retirement because "it's what I've done all of my life." She planned to release her final album with help from Stevie Wonder before calling it quits.

"This will be my last year. I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it," she said. "Of course, several of the songs are going to be produced by [Stevie Wonder], and of course there's only one Stevie, right? It's kind of multi-[directional]." Her final LP, which is expected to be released in September, will be a love letter to her hometown Detroit.

Aretha has over 20 No. 1 singles in the U.S. and won the Grammys for Best R&B Vocal Performance eight years in a row from 1968 until 1975. In 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush back in 2005.

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