Here's some good news!!

Access Hollywood reports: Aretha Franklin is speaking out regarding her recent health scare.

Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson -- a friend of the Queen of Soul for nearly 20 years -- got the scoop from Franklin herself as the seasoned singer revealed why she chose to address recent health rumors.

“Well, there was just so many wild things out there and just so many things being said that weren’t true,” Franklin told Robinson in a phone interview on Thursday. “I just felt I needed to address it a little.”

Franklin, 68, admits there was indeed a health scare, but she isn’t ready to divulge specifics just yet.

“I went through a number of procedures before I knew what was wrong,” Franklin told Robinson.

“I know that you revealed to Jet magazine that you initially sought treatment because of a pain in your side,” Robinson replied. “Did the pain get so severe that you said, ‘Hey, there’s got to be something wrong here?’”

“Yeah, the pain was so hard it almost brought me to my knees,” Franklin revealed. “I was in Birmingham and then Boston and after that concert the same pain hit me again.

“I really just began to not feel good and I said, ‘Oh, no this is it, I can’t do any more concerts till I know what the problem is,’” she added.

The “Freedom” chanteuse shot down rampart reports that she had been stricken with pancreatic cancer, saying, “I don’t know where ‘pancreatic cancer’ came from.

“I was sitting there reading the newspaper and it was saying someone in my family said that,” Franklin continued. “No one in my family ever said that to anybody.”

The beloved artist received an overwhelming outpouring of “Respect” from high-profile well-wishers during her recovery -- including the Commander In Chief.

“I got a wonderful and beautiful letter from the President,” Franklin told Robinson. “And nobody does it like him!”

Access is thrilled to report that Franklin is expected to continue blessing us with her phenomenal voice and fashion-forward hats for the foreseeable future.

“So, it’s safe to say to your fans that we will be seeing Aretha Franklin for many years to come, right?” Robinson asked Franklin.

“That’s what my doctor said,” Franklin replied. “He said, ‘The surgery that you just had is going to add 15 to 20 more years to your life.’”

In addition to her positive health report, the singer has won yet another battle -- her struggle with weight.

“I’m down to a rockin’ [size] 16 - 18,” she excitedly told Robinson.

“Oh, I’m comin’ with it, OK?!?” she laughed. “It’s getting better every day. I plan on keeping this weight that I have now -- I’m so happy with it.”

Franklin is up for a Best R&B Grammy for her duet with Ronald Isley and while she’ll likely miss that party, she promises to resume her concert tour.

“My concerts don’t start until May and then I’m going to reschedule Washington, Virginia and Kansas City,” she told Shaun. “Those are some of the places I had to cancel because of the procedure I had to have.”

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So, I have been dealing with this no sleep thing for over a month now, I would get MAYBE 3 hours of sleep, but it was mroe of a meditaiton state because I was still be alert and aware of everything, it has been so bad, its not only messing with me physically, but mentally, to the point of being delusional. I have been pushing and fighting through it, but if anyone here who has not gotten sleep for a while like this will know what I mean, anyway, I finally couldnt take it any more and went to the doc, I have insomnia (obvious), he asked about my past and things in my life and if I have ever had depression, I go on to tell him, His eyes get really big and his jaw just drops and he tells me that I have supressed everything so much, that even though I may seem fine, the fact of not getting any sleep like this for over a month leads to the conclusion of serious depression (I honeslty would have never linked it because I feel like I have been really happy). He goes on to ask how I make it through the day and I told him by listening to music (Joe obviously), he looks at me and says "well, your going to have to start listening to a LOT more of that music". Also asked if I like to write, I said ehh not really, he asked if I played an instrument, I told him I attept guitar, he says "I suggest you start playing a lot more and start writing some songs", along with taking melatonin (natural sleep aid) and anti depressants.

peanuthead, maybe you should dance more?

Gotta Have Joe- Heres a bunch of JOE for you to watch & listen :-)

AWMAWY

Joe Satriani - Flying In A Blue Dream

SUMMER SONG

SATCHBOOGIE

peanuthead, this one is guaranteed to make you sleep better!

lol thanks ladys.

PEACE- I watched those yesterday (or was that today? :S) and I LOVE the AWMAWY one... Love to be able to watch Joes eyes!

in my night of not sleeping, I was thinking.. I havent listened to Chickenfoot in a LONG time... so, I poped it it! MY GOD!!!! forgot how AWESOME this is!!!!

Hi Joe and Friends,

I just want to make sure someone lets you know - The acoustics at the Fox Theater in Oakland where you guys played last night were absolutely awful. On the balcony the sound was so loud and muffled I really couldn't hear a thing. I could just barely follow along with all the songs, but only because I knew them all by heart, and even then it was difficult. Really a disappointing experience, especially because you guys put on an otherwise great show!

I spoke to other people at the seats near me and they all said the same thing - the sound was awful. Apparently lots of people have diagnosed this as a problem of Fox theater itself, not the mixing guys or the performers. Check out all the one-star negative comments on yelp, or this music fan's blog.

Please Joe, next time you're home in the San Francisco Bay Area, come to another venue! I'm looking forward to better sound on your next stop here.

great song...LEARNING TO FALL

I have been so tuned to listen to mainly backtracks of all songs so I cant help but to really listen to it! lol..

Joe, My boys and I wanted to thank you for a great memory from your Upper Darby, PA show. It was my youngest son's first concert and man, what an experience it was for him. We're all still talking about how great your show was and how much we loved the music. A special "Thanks" for bringing Ned Evett on the tour with you. We did not know Ned's music prior to the show, but we loved his set, went out front during the intermission and bought his new album and spoke briefly to Ned. We've been enoying 'afraid4u' ever since. We already can't wait for the next solo Satch effort or the next Chickenfoot. Best wishes to you and your family Joe.

Hey wolf, good luck with that BLATTER problem dude.

i REALLY hope this girl doesn't have a license!

It's funny, but so ridiculous! If she couldn't see a feckin giant fountain in front of her, with the benefit of a doubt she knew it was coming up in front of her, imagine the damage she could do in a vehicle.

Whelp, another fantastic show under everyone's belts!! It was good to see Brian and Debbie, Ian and his cute new lil wife, Austin and his dad and brother....the 11 of us took up almost the entire center 3rd row, it was great, LOL! And during Big Bad Moon, we all held up "scorecards" that Brian and Debbie had made for Joe and the guys.....10's all the way around, LOL! Unless someone accidentally held it up upside down and it read 01....naaaaaaaaahhhhh, no WAY!!

Of the two shows, I think Oakland was the best for us, esp since we had front row seats and got to stand for the entire show along with everyone else...plus the sound was better there, although nothing really wrong with Reno sound. It was just so much easier to groove with the music front row and standing, lol!!! Plus having Sammy come out for 2 songs just pushed the excitement level that much higher. Up until now, I'da said the EWJS tour in 2004/05 were our most favorite shows ever, but....the Oakland show, and G3 07 shows, are right up there close behind!! Soooo goood!!

We had aftershow passes for ourselves, Mc and JJ, but poor Joe had had such a long day (what day ISN'T too long for him on tour, the guy doesn't get nearly enough rest!)...so Joe didn't make it out to chat with the 35ish peeps waiting. Awwwww...but that's okay, I'd rather he get the extra rest and be okay :) Chris was pretty bummed BUT....put a few bucks in a slot machine and walked away with a gigundo pot....$16, LOL! That helped :) We just missed our Joe-hugs all around...maybe next time. Meanwhile, so much fun on this trip with Mc and Joanie, plus two kick-ass shows...how can ya beat it!!

Joe, Chris has been playing more acoustic lately (since he's now in his own apartment), and loving it...when you played acoustic for Andalusia, he just marveled at your skills and said "how can Joe think he needs work on acoustic!! He's fantastic!" He wanted you to know that :)

We did get a chance to chat with Allen last night for a bit, and just briefly with Jeff, love those guys. Allen is such a nice guy, and so appreciative of this chance to play on this tour, he had only great things to say about working for Joe and his "family". He'll be watching out for Joanie and Al in LA :) and he gave each of the guys a pick. Had left but made a point to come back just for that and said..."it's a guy thing"...lol!!

Got some great photos, esp in Oakland where no one was in front of us..even managed to score good shots of Jeff for a change! I'll upload after we get home.

Oh, and in line here, met a nice young man and his dad seeing Joe for the very first time, the kid plays several different kinds of instruments and picked up guitar over a year ago. He was sooooo excited to see his "hero"...I love talking to other people who love Joe! Before the show started, we got his name and addy...gotta spread the love and send something special his way next week.

All in all a wunnerful time this week...Alan loves Chris, we all love Alan (even tho he's a strange guy) and his and JJ's saga continues into next week after Chris and I head home tomorrow....they head to adventure in LA.

Happy happy, but having Joe-withdrawals big time already, lol! We get depressed when our last show is over, lol!!

It was so nice to see everyone in Reno last night! What an amazing show, definitely the best I have ever seen Joe perform, CF or otherwise. Our seats were awesome, the sound we heard was straight out of Joe's amp, and he stood right in front of us most of the night!

peanuthead, we really, really really wish you would sleep more too. Have you seen that commercial where they use a frying pan upside the head? That makes for a peaceful night.

Great to hear all the wonderful things about the last two shows! The videos are popping up nicely on youtube, so it's cool we get to see what y'all got to see. lol! I hope somebody from the stage got a shot of all the 10 cards!

Chee, I hope the four of you are enjoying the warmer weather. Mc might get a little toasted in LA if he's not careful. Wait, by toasted I meant sunburned, not toasted as in how he's been spending the past week. lol! I get a hangover just thinking about those two. lmao!!! Good times man, good times!

Give it Away

Hey Joe, thanks for the tour stop in Portland on 1-11-11!!! It was truly a night I'll NEVER forget!! I also wanted to say that I picked up The Satriani model VOX Amplug and love it!! Thank you for putting out a wonderful product. Now playing along on "Light Years Away" is like a Satriani Rock and Roll fantasy camp.

I am looking forward when you come around again. Either solo or with Chickenfoot. You are a huge influence in my desire to be a great guitar player. Seeing your performance helps me keep my dream alive.

Until next time Satchman.....

Hi Peace------Yeah those really are lovely songs...

Here's a sad note about Etta James. She is in ailing health Lukemia and Dementia. not looking good for her at all. She lives in my neighborhood, she's resided here for years, trips me out that someone so famous lives in my neighborhood. Plenty of wealthy people here though that's for sure. Once me and my X are pretty sure we saw Ric Ocasek and his model wife Paulina next to us in a Ferrari...Back in the 90's. They were next to us on the street. Always wonder who else besides Etta (famous) is by me....Anyways- Thoughts and prayers out to her :( She's really in bad shape.

Also, Just read from David Bowie.Net that Nile Rodgers has contracted Cancer, but seems he is doing better.

Im feeling rather sad today even though im going to see Joe tommorow. ...totally sucks. This is life aint it..sigh Im happy for Aretha Franklin, David Bowie just turned 64 this month and he had his own health scare back in '04 and ever since he has grown really silent. Just is breaking my heart because I have become such a HUGE fan this past month or so. Just love and adore him so much. I may never get to see him Live, and i've missed so much of him....it just really really sucks. Anywho....guitar time hopefully I will feel better :-l