'The Queen Is On!!! ... The 2003 Tour'; Aretha Franklin's 'Semi-Retirement' Tour Begins This Month - With Performances of Her New Single, 'The Only Thing Missin''.

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 2003

Arista Records 

Early spins pour in from major Urban AC markets - single

impacts at radio on June 23rd, from Aretha's first

album since 1998's A ROSE IS STILL A ROSE

Album arrives in stores on Sept. 16th; producers include Aretha, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Burt Bacharach, Troy Taylor, Gordon Chambers,

Ron Lawrence, Barry Eastman, Norman West and others

Arista recording artist Aretha Franklin has officially named her 'semi-retirement' tour "The Queen Is On!!!... The 2003 Tour," it was announced today by Antonio "L.A." Reid, president and CEO, Arista Records.

"The Only Thing Missin'" - the new single from Aretha Franklin's upcoming new studio album -has already rocketed into the top 40 with a bullet on Urban AC radio. Early radio spins pouring in from a number of markets - including Philadelphia, PA; Miami, FL; Detroit, MI; Washington D.C.; Dallas, TX; New Orleans, LA and many others - indicate overwhelming acceptance for "The Only Thing Missin'." The single will impact at Urban AC and AC radio formats on June 23rd. "The Only Thing Missin'" was produced by Troy Taylor, renowned for his versatility as a producer and arranger with artists ranging from Whitney Houston (Just Whitney...) and Kenny Lattimore (Weekend) to Ginuwine and BoneThugs 'N Harmony. The single was co-written by Taylor with Gordon Chambers, Myiia Davis, and Rick Williams.

"The Only Thing Missin'" is one of the hottest songs on my new album," says Ms. Franklin. "It's the kind of song that a singer waits for. Troy Taylor is really cool and very easy to work with. It's a real treat to sing one of his songs."

Aretha will be performing "The Only Thing Missin'" from her new album as well as her other classic hits on the current tour. As an added surprise, each concert will include at least one special guest duet performance with Aretha. Confirmed guests include Cissy Houston in a rare reunion performance, Ronald Isley (Isley Brothers), Dennis Edwards (Temptations) and Ali "Ollie" Woodson (Temptations). In an unusual move last month, Aretha held open auditions in Detroit to hand-pick the dancers in her touring troupe. Male and female dancers, ages 18-35, flocked to the auditions, which were publicly announced just prior to the scheduled dates.

"The Only Thing Missin'" is the first single from Aretha's as-yet-untitled 12th Arista album since 1980, scheduled to arrive in stores on September 16th. In addition to tracks produced by Aretha herself, along with productions by Taylor as well as by the team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the album will contain at least one track written especially for Aretha by Burt Bacharach, and produced by him. Among the other producers slated for the album (followed by some of the artists with whom they've worked) are:

Norman West (Hammer, gospel artist Anne Benjamin, Rev. Robert Smith Jr., Smiley, Detroit's Most Wanted, Tabbatha of Oak Town 357, Proof (Shady Records), TNB, John Payne, Doctor G.G., and Aretha's A Rose Is Still A Rose);

Ron Lawrence (Notorious BIG, Puff Daddy, LL Cool J, Luther Vandross, Jay Z, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Brian McKnight, Mase, Boyz II Men).

Gordon Chambers (Just Whitney..., Anita Baker, Allure, Michael Bolton, Brownstone);

Barry Eastman (Anita Baker, Vanessa Armstrong, Regina Belle, Will Downing, Kenny Lattimore);

"The Only Thing Missin'" and Aretha's upcoming album are her first major new releases on Arista since 1998's A Rose Is Still A Rose. That album featured the title tune hit and its follow-up, "Here We Go Again," and generated nearly a dozen Grammy and NAACP Image Awards nominations in 1999.

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