Stevie Wonder visits Aretha Franklin, as Beyoncé and Rod Stewart and others pay tribute

14 August 2018, 20:23 | Updated: 15 August 2018, 10:41

The Queen of Soul is said to be seriously ill at her home in Detroit.

Aretha Franklin's publicist Gwendolyn Quinn told The Associated Press that Stevie Wonder, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and her ex-husband, actor Glynn Turman, visited the 76-year-old singer.

No further details have been released about her condition.

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Stevie and Aretha have been friends for decades, and have recorded together on many occasions.

Aretha announced plans to retire in 2017, saying she would only perform at “some select things”.

Many famous musicians influenced by Aretha have offered words of support when news emerged that she was ill on Monday (August 13), including Sir Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, and Chaka Khan.

At her concert in Detroit on Monday night with husband Jay-Z, Beyoncé thanked Aretha for her “beautiful music” and said “we love you”.

Former US President Bill Clinton also tweeted that he and Hillary Clinton “are thinking about Aretha Franklin tonight & listening to her music that has been such an important part of our lives the last 50 years”.

“We hope you’ll lift her up by listening and sharing her songs that have meant the most to you."