After blessing the world with her music, American singer, Aretha Franklin will be retiring this year, after the release of her last album.
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The 75-year old queen of soul music has announced that her last album will be out in September 2017. The forthcoming album will be made up of original compositions and will feature Stevie Wonder.
Although Aretha Franklin intends to stop making music, she does not intend to stop singing as she will still be actively involved in music.
In the words of Aretha Franklin:
“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.”
Aretha Franklin [Bio]
With the middle name, Louise, Aretha Franklin began her singing career at her father’s church. At the age of 18, she diverted to singing secular and did some recordings for Columbia Records.
She was later signed to Atlantic Records in 1967, where her fame spread with songs like ‘Respect’, ‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman’ and ‘Think’.
In the late 70s, Franklin left Atlantic Records following a deal with Arista Records. She also ventured into acting and played prominent roles including one in the film ‘The Blues Brothers.’
Aretha Franklin has sold over 75 million records worldwide and has won a total of 18 Grammy Awards. She is one of the best-selling artists of all time and was once placed at number 1 spot on a list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
In 2005, Franklin became the second woman to be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. She was the 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year, performing at the Grammys days later.
Former US President, Barack Obama once explained how he felt during Franklin’s performance of ‘A Natural Woman’ at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors.
He said:
“Nobody embodies more fully the connection between the African-American spiritual, the blues, R&B, rock and roll -the way that hardship and sorrow were transformed into something full of beauty and vitality and hope.”
Aretha Franklin
Other popular singles of Aretha includes, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1971), “I’m in Love” (1974), “Spanish Harlem” (1971), “Day Dreaming” (1972), “Angel” (1973), “I’m in Love” (1974), “Something He Can Feel” (1976), “Break It to Me Gently” (1977), “Jump to It” (1982), “Get It Right” (1983), “Freeway of Love” (1985) and more.
In 2010 Aretha went into an emergency abdominal surgery to take out a tumor, forcing her to cancel some shows scheduled within that period.
Following the news of Franklin’s health status at the time, in February 2011, the Grammys ceremony paid tribute to the singer with a medley of her classics performed by Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Yolanda Adams.
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Aretha Franklin has hinted that after the release of this last album, she hopes to dedicate most of her free time to be with her grandchildren before they go to college.
Her past works are evident that this last album will be a collection of all the sweetness that comes with the bottom pot.
Anticipate!
