MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican crooner José José, the elegant dresser who moved audiences to tears with melancholic love ballads and was known as the "Prince of Song," has died at the age of 71.
Mexican artists' association ANDI confirmed the death in a Twitter post on Saturday. Multiple media outlets said the singer had died of pancreatic cancer at a hospital in South Florida.
José José, whose real name is José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz, climbed to the top of the Latin charts in the 1970s with slow songs such as "El Triste" or "The Sad Man," and "Amar y querer" or "Love and want." The power of his voice and ability to sing technically difficult tunes in a wide register made him a treasured cultural icon in Latin America.
José José's music also became popular in countries including Japan and Russia.
The artist's voice, a combination of baritone and lyric tenor, captivated audiences while his dress style of suits accented with bow ties, pocket handkerchiefs and silk scarves was copied at nightclubs across Latin America.
"He squeezed our hearts with his unmistakable voice and left an indelible mark on the world of music," Latin music star Gloria Estefan said on Twitter.
José José was born to a family of musicians on Feb. 17, 1948 in Mexico City. His mother, Margarita Ortiz Pensado, was a concert pianist and his father was a tenor in the National Opera of Mexico.
The singer added a second José to his artist's name in honor of his father, who died when José José was 17. The father had abandoned the family when José José was young.
"I wanted to honor the memory of my father, who was a great opera singer and died very young, without knowledge of my success," José José told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview. "Since I inherited his voice, this is recognition of that inheritance."
José José got started in music singing in cafes before founding a rock group called the Heart Breakers that launched an unsuccessful album in the mid-60s. His solo career took off with a single called "La nave del olvido" or "The ship of the forgotten" and peaked in the 1980s with albums like "Secrets," his best-selling collaboration with Spanish love song composer and producer Manuel Alejandro.
He struggled with Lyme disease, facial paralysis, substance abuse and depression. His problems with alcohol and drugs led to the 1993 dissolution of his 18-year marriage with model Anel Noreña, with whom he had two children: José Joel y Marisol. He hit bottom following the separation and began sleeping in a taxi on the outskirts of the Mexican capital. Friends intervened and took him to an addiction treatment center in the U.S.