The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is an icon that has inspired many female vocalists over the years. Now, Franklin tells Billboard that she plans to soon give us an album of classics.
For this “concept” album, Franklin will be recording songs originally made famous by her fellow iconic female singers. Once the new year rings in, Franklin will hit the studio to record over tracks the album’s producers Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Don Was have already been working on. Clive Davis serves as the executive producer.
“It’s just re-working some things that were very, very good and certainly chartworthy and sold a lot of records,” Franklin said. “They’re records that, musically, I respected and that I liked a lot and that I would love to have one go-’round with. I aspire for musical excellence. I have very high standards where music is concerned, and I’m looking for something I haven’t done, something that you haven’t heard and something just absolutely smashing.”
The album will include ten tracks, with Franklin already selecting Barbra Streisand’s “People” and Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” to cover. She even hinted at possibly including a Destiny’s Child hit.
“I’m even thinking of (Destiny’s Child‘s) ‘Bootylicious,'” the icon said.
According to Franklin, the album should be ready around the second quarter of 2014.
