Atlantic Records made its reputation with artists such as Aretha Franklin. Photo: Getty Images

Aretha Franklin will be recognised at the 2014 BET Honours

Aretha Franklin and Denzel Washington at her 72nd birthday celebration in New York (AP)

“Aretha Franklin’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’; I wasn’t expecting her to do what she did to that song. She’s my favourite singer; I am a big Aretha Franklin fan. I heard it when I was about 15, it was the first time I heard someone sing like that. I was just a kid and I thought ‘What on earth is this?’– and it turned out it was Aretha.” - Lachie Chapman, The Overtones

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 22: Singer Aretha Franklin and music producer Clive Davis attends the 30th Annual Night Of Stars presented by The Fashion Group International>> at Cipriani Wall Street on October 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)

Aretha Franklin is "gravely ill" and her family have gathered to say their goodbyes, according to US reports.

The 76-year-old soul legend - who last performed at the Elton John AIDS Foundation party in New York in November - is said to be at her home in Detroit, where her loved ones are understood to have gathered to say their goodbyes.

According to Showbiz 411, her family have appealed for "prayers and privacy" for the 'Say A Little Prayer' hitmaker.

The website said: "Aretha is surrounded by family and people close to her. She will be so missed as a mother, sister, friend, cousin. But her legacy is larger than life.

"It’s not just that Rolling Stone called her the number 1 singer of all time, or that she is the Queen of Soul. Long live the Queen."

Aretha's final public performance was at the Mann Center in Philadelphia in August 2017, where she reportedly battled through "exhaustion and dehydration" to "miraculously" complete the show.

The 'Respect' singer cancelled a number of concerts last year, and admitted in February 2017 that her touring days were coming to an end.

She said at the time: "I will be recording, but this will be my last year in concert. This is it."

But later that year, she revealed plans to buy a nightclub near her home and do occasional shows there.

She said last August: "I'm interested in doing a small nightclub downtown, and [estate agent Bruce Schwartz] and I have been talking about this for a couple of years now and I'm just letting him know I'm still interested.

"In my retirement plan, I'd like to have a small club here in Detroit.

"It would be [called] Aretha's!

"From time to time I would sing, and of course, I would have special artists come in to perform for the city that people in Detroit like - Detroit favourites."

Aretha - whose three siblings all died of cancer - has battled ill health over the last few years and in 2011, denied she was suffering from pancreatic cancer, though she later admitted she'd had a tumour removed.

Last November, she was the subject of a death hoax online but insisted she was "doing well" when she spoke up to deny the reports.

She said: "I'm doing well generally, all tests have come back good."

Online Editors