Aretha Franklin is retiring from what she knows best, singing. At 74, she has done so much after . 60 years of a very successful career. This news comes as a surprise to many people, especially because the singer is already recording her last album.
However, Ms. Franklin adds that she is not completing quitting music; she will be doing “select things” every six months. Her final album, her 42nd, will be released in September.
“I must tell you, I am retiring this year,” said the soul legend. “This will be my last year. I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.”
“I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from, and where it is now,” the Natural Woman singer continued, adding, “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.”
Franklin, one of the most influential artists in pop history, began singing gospel in the mid 1950s before turning to secular music in the early ’60s. She said her upcoming album, which she expects to release in September, would consist of original songs and would be produced in part by Stevie Wonder.
“I’m exuberant about it,” she said in the interview. “I can’t wait to get in the studio.”