Legendary Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez passes away at age 81

CNN/Stylemagazine.com Newswire | 12/13/2021, 1:05 p.m.
Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez, 81, passed away on Sunday at a hospital in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara, according …
Legendary Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez passes away at age 81. Fernandez was here named Person of the Year by the Latin Recording Academy in 2002. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for LARAS

Originally Published: 12 DEC 21 09:49 ET

Updated: 12 DEC 21 12:26 ET

By Sugam Pokharel and Karol Suarez, CNN

(CNN) -- Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez, 81, passed away on Sunday at a hospital in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara, according to a post published on his official Instagram account.

The ranchera star was in poor health after a fall in August that forced him to have surgery.

Locally known as El Rey, the king of Mexican music, Fernandez recorded more than 300 songs, sold more than 65 million albums worldwide and won three Grammys and eight Latin Grammys.

He was best known for his songs "Volver, Volver," "Por Tu Maldito Amor," and "El Rey."

Fernandez -- who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame -- was named Person of the Year by the Latin Recording Academy in 2002.

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