Aretha Franklin talks return to stage, diet change

NEW YORK (AP) - Aretha Franklin says she's back at "150 percent" and plans her first post-surgery concert in May...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin says she’s back at “150 percent” and plans her first post-surgery concert in May.

Franklin said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press that she’s set to perform at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Buffalo, New York, on May 28. It’s the same month that she said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will release her long-awaited album “Aretha: A Woman Falling Out of Love.”

The Queen of Soul had surgery in December for an undisclosed ailment. Since then, the 68-year-old has revamped her diet, giving up her beloved chitterlings, pigs’ feet and ham hocks in favor of a Whole Foods-type diet. She’s lost weight and hopes to get down to a size 16.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

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