Aretha Franklin Announces Retirement, Plans to Release One More Album

“R-E-T-I-R-E-M-E-N-T, tell you what it means to me!”

The Queen of Soul has announced that she is will be hanging up the microphone later this year. That’s right, Auntie ReRe is retiring.

Aretha Franklin, who was the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, told WDIV Local 4 in Detroit that she wanted to record one more album to release this year before she retires.

“I must tell you, I am retiring this year,” she told the station.

According to reports, Stevie Wonder will produce the new album, which Franklin plans to release in September. It will be an ode to Detroit, she revealed, comprised of original work.

Although Franklin will be retiring, she will continue to record music.

“This will be my last year,” she said. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.” Franklin said after explaining that her tour will short, planned for one day per month, lasting “maybe for six months.”

The announcement was very bittersweet for the legendary artist, as performing has been what Franklin has done all her life.  However with her grandchildren preparing to go off to college, she wants to spend more time with them.

“I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now,” Franklin said. “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.”

As a result of her active lifestyle, she has decided to “keep the one or two concerts in every month or so,” to keep her going.

As for the album, “it’s kind of multi-(directional),” she said. “We’re not pigeonholed to any one thing.” She also revealed, she will be recording in Detroit.

Who is ready for a new Aretha album?