Mexican crooner Jose Jose dies
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican crooner Jose Jose, 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.
Jose Jose, whose real name is Jose Romulo 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.
Jose Jose’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 nightlife spots 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.
Jose Jose 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 Jose to his artist’s name in honor of his father, who died when Jose Jose was 17. The father had abandoned the family when Jose Jose 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,” Jose Jose told the Associated Press in a 2005 interview. “Since I inherited his voice, this is recognition of that inheritance.”
Jose Jose 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.