Known to his fans as El Divo de Juarez, Juan Gabriel led Billboard magazine’s Top Latin Albums charts five times between 2016 and 2015. “Rest in peace, Juan Gabriel, a great friend, great artist and wonderful human being”.
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Although a heart attack is the suspected cause of death, Juan’s body is now with the L.A. county Medical Examiner for further examination of what led to his sudden passing. He was scheduled to perform Sunday in El Paso, Texas.
A six-time Grammy nominee, Gabriel was named the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year in 1995, inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1996, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2009.
Juan Gabriel was a prolific musician – by Univision’s count he put out some 1,800 songs. He had just performed Saturday at the Ingelwood Forum in California as part of the “MeXXico es todo” tour, to a sell-out crowd. There he met his mentor, Juan Contreras, according to the AP. “I was good writing songs, but I was innocent for many other things and when I ended up in jail I didn’t know how to defend myself”, he told La Jornada. The teenager ended up in jail, accused of robbery, but the jail director and his wife helped free him.
“Over the next 14 years, he established himself as Mexico’s leading singer/songwriter, composing in diverse styles such as rancheras, ballads, pop, disco, and mariachi, which resulted in an incredible list of hits … not only for himself but for many leading Latin artists”, reads a biography from the Recording Academy.
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“My heart is heavy and very sad today for Juan Gabriel has passed away”, Fogerty wrote. Songs such as “El Noa Noa”, “Amor Eterno” and “No Tengo Dinero” have served as the soundtrack for generations of Latinos. “Don’t believe it. Juan Gabriel was singular”.
