— 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.
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.
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. 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 US.
His voice troubles made it very difficult for him to sing in his later years. For a 2008 concert with Greek composer and pianist Yanni, it took the by-then scratchy-voiced Mexican singer seven days to prepare “just to attempt to sing,” recounted Yanni in a video posted to Twitter. “That was an act of bravery on his part,” he added.The icon had confirmed via a video message to fans in March 2017 that he was battling pancreatic cancer.
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