Aretha Franklin, the 74-year-old legendary singer and songwriter, plans to retire after 56 years of performances.

But before Franklin takes her final bow, she will record one final album with Stevie Wonder.

“I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.”

“I must tell you, I am retiring this year,” Franklin, who maintains a vigorous schedule, told Detroit TV station WDIV Local 4. “I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it.”

Franklin said she looks forward to more time with her grandchildren — and is looking back on her career with joy.

“I feel very, very enriched and satisfied with respect to where my career came from, and where it is now,” the Queen of Soul said.

She is the daughter of an accomplished singer and piano-playing mother, and a minister father whose church propelled her career in gospel. Franklin was inspired to follow singer Sam Cooke’s footsteps by breaking into pop music.

By 1967, she was making waves in the music world with her hit songs “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “Think.” She has had more than 20 No. 1 singles on the U.S. music charts and became the first female performer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

She’s won 18 Grammy Awards and sold more than 75 million records worldwide.

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Franklin has inspired generations of women with her musical gift, confidence and attitude. And, as she told Rolling Stone in 2012, some advice from her father played a key role in her life and career.

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“No matter how good you are, and no matter how successful you are, one day, the applause is going to die down,” Franklin said her father told her. “One day the hallelujahs and the amens are going to stop. One day, the fans might not be there. So know what you’re going to do when that day comes.”

Fortunately, Franklin leaves on her terms with millions of devoted fans worldwide.

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Here’s a look back at five of her best performances to help celebrate her career.

Fillmore West, 1971: One of Franklin’s most famous performances was her live album, “Aretha Live at Fillmore West,” where she made history and became the first R&B performer to headline the venue.

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“The Steve Allen Show,” 1964: Before we heard some of her most famous hits, Franklin was on “The Steve Allen Show” breaking into the music business. Here she shows off not just her beautiful singing voice — but her gift of piano playing:

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“The Blues Brothers,” 1980: Aretha Franklin’s song “Think” was famously featured in the 1980 film “The Blues Brothers” — and it was one of the singer’s most fun performances.

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Grammy Awards, 1972: Aretha sang a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and brought the song more heart and soul than ever imagined by the original songwriters. In 1971, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. R & B charts and later won a Grammy Award — where Franklin did a beautiful rendition of the song.

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Kennedy Center Honors, 2015: The singer gave an incredible performance of the hit “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” at the Kennedy Center Honors. Carole King, co-writer of the song, was shown in the audience expressing exuberant delight — and former President Obama was seen wiping away tears.

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