Aretha Franklin fractures toe in favourite Jimmy Choo shoes

But continues tour, in hospital issue footwear

"Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin has added a new kind of sole to her performances.

The "Respect" singer last week fractured the big toe of her left foot on a favourite Jimmy Choo shoe and is now singing her brand of soul music in hospital-issued footwear, her representative said on Tuesday.

Grammy-winner Franklin had just played a private show in Dallas when she returned to the hotel and stumbled over the designer shoe, which was on the floor because she was packing, said Tracey Jordan, a spokeswoman for the singer.

The heel of the shoe "wrapped around" Franklin's big toe on her left foot, Jordan said.

A few days later, while on concert tour, Franklin went to a hospital in Indiana where she was told the toe was fractured, and she was given a wooden shoe with blue cloth to support the injured foot.

"The first question was, 'How am I going to get this shoe to match my gown?'" Franklin said, when first told her toe was fractured, according to Jordan.

But the 69-year-old Franklin has continued singing and touring and is scheduled to perform on Tuesday night in Vienna, Virginia.

Franklin, whose hits include "Chain of Fools" and "I Say a Little Prayer," last November canceled concert appearances for six months on doctors' orders and later underwent surgery. She has not disclosed the nature of surgery, or the reason for it.