Aretha Franklin Celebrates Her 70th Birthday & Reunites with Clive Davis

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, 70, celebrated her birthday this past weekend and announced that she's reuniting with former mentor, record executive Clive Davis.

During the soul star's party at the luxurious Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York on Saturday night, Franklin announced in a brief interview that she had signed a new contract with Sony Music Entertainment, where Davis serves as Chief Creative Officer. Davis signed Franklin to Arista Records during her career slump in the Eighties, a move that reinvigorated her career and helped to define his.

"I have re-signed with Clive Davis, so I’m recording with Clive again," she explained, continuing that the pair would meet within the next month to decide what material they would include. Source

Aretha Franklin made headlines last year with her engagement announcement and renouncement to Willie Wilkerson. The couple still seems to be on good terms although there seems to be no wedding in sight.

I'm pretty sure Chaka Khan and others are somewhere shaking their heads at this very moment in light of this recent news. Chaka was very outspoken against Clive Davis for continuing the Grammy party this year despite Whitney Houston's dead body still upstairs in the same hotel. She was also a no-show at the televised funeral.