Chaka Khan has retired from touring because she wants to spend more time with her great-grandchildren.
The 70-year-old music legend has been on the road regularly since launching her career in the 1970s, but she has now decided she wants to take more time off to focus on her family so she won’t be heading out on any more tours.
She told Rolling Stone: “Some people, that’s [music] all they have, you know? I got this rich-ass life. I’ve got great-grandchildren I want to get to know better. So I will not do another tour.”
However, Chaka is adamant she will still perform one-off shows which give her plenty of time off inbetween.
She added: “I’ll do dates, but it won’t look like a tour. They’ll be far enough apart that I can have time to sleep in between.”
When asked if she will ever retire completely, she joked: “Well, I might do that three or four times, like other b****** do.”
Chaka added of her legacy: “I don’t really care. I would hope that some of my [stuff] has some longevity, but if it doesn’t, that’ll be because hopefully somebody better has come along.
“I just hope that the art form doesn’t get so screwed up with stupid [stuff] – kids today think that every instrument can be played on a keyboard. Instruments have to be introduced once again to these kids.”
Chaka’s big news comes amid rumours she’s being lined up for a huge gig at Britain’s Glastonbury Festival next summer. A recent report suggested she’s going head-to-head with Shania Twain for the event’s coveted Legends slot.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Talks have been ongoing for months and months with both Chaka and Shania. Organisers have left it far later than usual to nail down the festival’s three headliners and that has meant no decision has been made about who to choose for the Legend slot.
“But Chaka and Shania are top of the list, have each said they would be interested and are both keeping the date free. It would be an incredible honour for either of them – and the hits would please everyone.”