First Female Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer Announces Retirement

“This Will Be My Last Year,” Says 74 Year Old Grammy Winner

After 6 decades, 18 Grammy Awards, and 75 million records sold worldwide, Aretha Franklin is finally getting some much needed time off; The Queen Of Soul announced yesterday that she will be retiring following the release of what is to be her final album, due out later this year. The announcement came early yesterday and quickly spread across social media following Franklin’s interview with Detroit TV station WDIV Local 4, with tributes pouring in as fans, industry colleagues and friends took to social media to celebrate a career that spanned 61 years and countless accomplishments and records broken:

At 74 years old, Aretha Franklin plans to retire. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert.” https://t.co/Ie4rcc8L9W pic.twitter.com/2tdmvw2t4t

— ABC News (@ABC) February 9, 2017

Franklin began her musical journey singing gospel music in her father’s Baptist church before embarking on a solo career in secular music in 1960 at the age of 18 and hasn’t looked back, dominating the charts throughout the 60s with hits like “Think,” “Respect,” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and earning the title of ‘The Queen Of Soul’ by the end of the decade; she wasn’t even 30.

In 1987 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the honor performed by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and after a career as one of the best selling artists of all time, it’s understandable that Aretha wants to spend the rest of her life with her children and grandchildren – hell, she’s earned it several times over! In true Aretha fashion, her last album is slated to be produced by friend and fellow legend Stevie Wonder, a soulful powerhouse of a swan song from The Queen of Soul and quite frankly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.