LOS ANGELES — Grammy-winning jazz singer Al Jarreau, who transcended genres over a 50-year career, died at a Los Angeles hospital Sunday, just days after announcing his retirement from touring due to exhaustion.
His official Twitter account and website say he died surrounded by his wife, son and a few other family members and friends. He was 76.
Jarreau was hospitalized earlier in the week and was said to have been improving slowly. The cause of his death was not revealed.
The Milwaukee native won seven Grammys over the course of his half-century in music. His biggest single was 1981's "We're in This Love Together" from the album Breakin' Away. Jarreau was also a vocalist on the all-star 1985 track, "We Are the World," and sang the theme to TV's Moonlighting.
He is one of the few artists to have won Grammys in three separate categories — jazz, pop and R&B. Time Magazine once called him the "greatest jazz singer alive."
In a 2014 interview with The Arizona Republic, Jarreau relished in his crossover tendencies.
"I grew up in Milwaukee, and I took it all in. I want it all. Don't cut me off at the pass and say I can't listen to Muddy Waters because I'm a jazzer. Or I can't listen to Garth Brooks because I'm a jazzer. Get out of here," he said.
Read Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.