Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin announces her retirement

After a career of more than 50 years, veteran singer Aretha Franklin has announced that she is retiring from music to spend more time with her grandchildren.
The 74-year-old star would record one final album with Stevie Wonder before stepping out of the limelight, reported BBC.
"I must tell you, I am retiring this year," Franklin told a Detroit TV station, adding that she felt "exuberant" about her plans.
Looking back on her success, the star said, "I feel very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from and where it is now".
The singer, however, said that she would remain open to "some select things, many one a month, for six months out of the year".

"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 added.

Franklin has won a total of 18 Grammy awards and is one of the best-selling artistes of all time, having sold over 75 million records.
She has sung at three presidential inaugurations (for Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter) and influenced generations of musicians across soul, R&B, gospel, pop and rock.
Franklin has been honored throughout her career, including a 1987 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in which she became the first female performer to be inducted. She was also inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Some of her greatest hits are "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (with George Michael), "Respect", "I Say a Little Prayer", "Think" and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You).