Aretha Franklin announces her retirement from music
The Queen of Soul is recording an album with Stevie Wonder before retiring.
Aretha Franklin, the Queen of soul, has revealed she plans to retire later this year, aged 74.
"I must tell you, I am retiring this year," she told WDIV Local 4, a TV station in Detroit.
But no fear, Aretha still has a few tricks up her sleeve. She told the TV channel that she has plans to release a final album in September before retiring. She also said her new album would feature music from Stevie Wonder, which she was 'exuberant' about.
"I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now," Aretha 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."
Aretha, 74, has sadly suffered from bad health in recent years. In 2010, she had to cancel shows due to medical issues, and underwent an emergency operation. She also had to cancel shows for illness last year in 2016.
We hope the time off does her good!
Listen to more of Aretha's music on our digital station Magic Soul online, on our app or on a DAB Digital Radio.