|
Aretha + Mary J. Blige
(8/18/03, 7 a.m. ET) -- Aretha Franklin has teamed with hip-hop vocal star Mary J. Blige on a couple of songs for her latest release So Damn Happy, due to hit stores September 16. The album, her first since 1998's A Rose Is Still A Rose, features 11 new tracks. The Queen Of Soul also pairs up with lyricist Burt Bacharach on several songs.
The CD's first single is called "The Only Thing Missin'." Other songs on the set include two collaborations with Blige, including "Holdin' On" and "No Matter What." Franklin also wrote and produced two tunes, including the title track and "You Are My Joy."
Earlier this year, Franklin's 1987 gospel set, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, was reissued with bonus tracks. Last fall, Columbia unveiled The Queen In Waiting: The Columbia Years, a compilation featuring her early recordings from 1960 to 1965 was issued.
Franklin landed more than thirty Top 40 hits between 1967 and 1976.
Fans can hear live versions off the new collection when Franklin hits the road for The Queen Is On . . . The 2003 Tour. She plays in Verona, New York, on August 22nd.
Franklin will also help kick off this year's NFL season by performing on September 4 at Washington, D.C.'s National Mall along with Britney Spears and Blige.
Upcoming Aretha Franklin tour dates are as follows:
August 22 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone Casino
August 24 - Hyannis, MA - Cape Cod Melody Tent
August 27 - Lowell, MA - Lowell Memorial Auditorium
August 29 - North Tonawanda, NY - New Melody Fair
September 4 - Washington, DC - National Mall
September 6 - Sterling Heights, MI - Freedom Hill Amphitheatre
September 20 - New York - Radio City Music Hall
October 4 - London, ONT - John Labatt Center
October 25 - Pittsburgh, PA - Heinz Hall
December 31 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater
__________________
I am a woman, I make mistakes. I make them often. God has given me a talent and that's it. ~ Jill Scott
|