Aretha takes a long look back with final tour
By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY

Aretha Franklin may reign indefinitely as the Queen of Soul, but as a touring entity, she's the queen of "so long."

The R&B icon says her current outing, which started Friday and stretches into fall, will be her last. She's not abdicating a throne she has occupied for more than three decades. Franklin, 61, has two albums in the works and intends to perform occasionally at special events, private parties and in commercials.

"I'll never quit," she vows. "I'll always be singing. I just won't do as much as I have been. I'm scaling it down."

Her final road show, which she has tentatively dubbed "Aretha Sings Her Musical History," plucks selections from 1962 to 2003. Backed by a 22-piece band that includes strings, brass and four singers, Franklin plans to dip into her early years and draw from Broadway's songbooks for material she has never performed live. She also has honed new versions of favorites such as Ain't No Way and Freeway of Love. Expect a nostalgic ride.

"I was listening to things from the '60s like Try a Little Tenderness, Won't Be Long and If Ever I Should Leave You, and I got a little teary," she says from her custom bus en route to a concert in Albany, N.Y.

Later shows will be augmented by dancers Franklin will handpick from open auditions at a Southfield, Mich., hotel in May. Franklin hits Washington, Boston and Atlanta in June, then the Midwest in July and New England in August.

Known to don extravagant gowns, Franklin is sating her fashion passion with stage garb designed by Valentino, Donna Karan, Halston, Bill Blass and Luther Vandross.

Yes, that Luther. To celebrate their friendship, the R&B crooner "has designed two of the most fabulous gowns I've ever seen," says Franklin, who first spotted Vandross' handiwork on his backup singers at a Detroit concert. "He might have missed his calling. He's every bit as fabulous designing as he is singing."

The last leg of the tour will coincide with a new album, due Sept. 9, that Franklin says is her best since 1982's Jump to It.

"It's absolutely smashing," she says. "And it's fun. You don't want to be too serious."

Troy Taylor produced and co-wrote Franklin's two duets with Mary J. Blige, and Burt Bacharach submitted a midtempo tune. Franklin wrote the euphoric So Damned Happy, which she pronounces "a No. 1 hit."

Next up is a collection of arias, due in late 2003, that includes O Mio Bambino Caro, Song to the Moon and Nessun Dorma, which floored viewers at the 1998 Grammys.

After she pulls off the road, Franklin plans to devote time helping her sons pursue record deals in hip-hop.

Her advice to aspiring singers has nothing to do with voice lessons or piano practice.

"Get that diploma," she commands. "The music industry is extremely competitive. Get that piece of paper so you have something to fall back on. "

Their duet "Don't Waste Your Time" is my favorite song off the Mary CD. I was disappointed when they didin't perform it together at Divas Live.