Soul queen Aretha Franklin has announced that she will retire from touring by the end of the year. Despite slowing down her schedule, though, she still intends to record — and will, in fact, release a brand new LP this fall.
"I am retiring this year," the singer said, speaking to Detroit's WDIV Local 4. "I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it."
She added, "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."
Franklin's final year of touring will see her reflecting on her illustrious career, as well as sharing some new material. She revealed that a new album of all original songs is expected out later this year, featuring several numbers produced by Stevie Wonder.
Firm details of the upcoming record have yet to be announced, though Franklin did say that it's "kind of multi-directional" and she isn't being "pigeonholed" into any one particular sound.
The new album will mark the follow-up to 2014's Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, which heard her covering the likes of Gladys Knight, Gloria Gaynor, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys and Adele, with production help from André 3000 and Babyface.
"I am retiring this year," the singer said, speaking to Detroit's WDIV Local 4. "I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it."
She added, "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."
Franklin's final year of touring will see her reflecting on her illustrious career, as well as sharing some new material. She revealed that a new album of all original songs is expected out later this year, featuring several numbers produced by Stevie Wonder.
Firm details of the upcoming record have yet to be announced, though Franklin did say that it's "kind of multi-directional" and she isn't being "pigeonholed" into any one particular sound.
The new album will mark the follow-up to 2014's Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics, which heard her covering the likes of Gladys Knight, Gloria Gaynor, Barbra Streisand, Alicia Keys and Adele, with production help from André 3000 and Babyface.
