One of the greatest voices of all time will hang up her mic later this year.
74-year-old 'Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin - whose career spans 61 years - has announced her intention to retire after releasing her final album this year.
The album will be recorded this year, produced by Stevie Wonder and released in September, after which she will call it a day on her long and hugely successful career.
She told Detroit TV station WDIV Local 4: "I must tell you, I am retiring this year,” and that the album would be an ode to her de facto hometown of Detroit, featuring original songs and recorded in the Motor City.
"I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now,” she 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.”
She then added that it's only a partial retirement as she will continue to dip her toe into some 'select' things for six months of the year.
Hear the interview below:
