Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin set to retire from touring

by John Lucas on February 9th, 2017 at 3:58 PM

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You've got to give the woman her due R-E-S-P-E-C-T. After all, not everyone can boast of a singing career spanning almost 60 years. Arethra Franklin can, and although she seemingly has no plans to stop making records, the undisputed Queen of Soul—who turns 75 next month—has announced that she intends to retire from the stage this year.

Franklin broke the news during an interview earlier this week with Detroit TV station WDIV.

"I must tell you, I am retiring this year," said the singer. "This will be my last year... I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it."

Franklin revealed that she has a new album in the works, and that several of the songs will be produced by Stevie Wonder.

“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.”

Lest anyone think that Franklin has no longer got what it takes to command an audience, watch the video below, in which she sings "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors in tribute to the song's co-writer, Carole King. (Franklin herself was the recipient of Kennedy Center Honors in 1994.)