"Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics" is the thirty-eighth and final studio album by the iconic American artist Aretha Franklin, released on October 17, 2014. This album features ten covers of songs originally made famous by other female artists.
This marked Franklin's first and only recording for RCA Records and her first studio album in 11 years since So Damn Happy (2003). It also stands as her first album since 1998 to be executively produced by Clive Davis, her longtime collaborator. Notably, this is her last album of entirely new recordings prior to her passing in 2018; her 2017 album A Brand New Me features vintage vocal performances from the 1960s and 1970s, enhanced with new orchestral arrangements.
The album debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, selling 23,000 copies in its first week, making it her 38th top 20 album. It also entered at No. 3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and topped the R&B albums chart.
The lead single, a cover of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" (titled "The Aretha Version"), includes an interpolation of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." This single debuted at No. 47 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, making Franklin the first woman and fourth artist overall to place 100 songs on this chart, with her first entry dating back to 1960 with "Today I Sing the Blues."
