CAPE TOWN - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend Aretha Franklin has passed away at the age of 76.
Earlier this week news broke across the world that the singer was gravely ill.
Instyle magazine has reported that the singer was estimated to be worth least $60 million (R873 million) when she passed.
Franklin was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and was a pioneer in the gospel, R&B, jazz and Soul genres.
Franklin's heyday extended into the early 1970s as she dominated the music charts with "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)," "Baby, I Love You," "Chain of Fools," "Think," "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," "Do-Right Woman" and "Respect," a cover of a Redding tune that became a song of empowerment during the civil rights era.
Franklin believed deeply in her philanthropic work and was rooted to the Detroit community and her church.
The New Bethel church reported that the jazz legend still sent $10 000 checks to the church several times a year.
Throughout her career, she released more than 40 albums and garnered 18 Grammy Awards.
The singer has worked in the music industry for 56 years and was recording one last record, according to a Detroit television station.
The record would have been produced by Stevie Wonder and would apparently be her last as she planned to retire.
That album has not been unreleased.