The Mexican cultural icon -- known as "El Principe de la Cancion," aka "The Prince of Song" -- passed away Saturday, according to his assistant Laura Nunez. Per reports, he died in a South Florida hospital -- and while cause of death hasn't been announced ... it was known he was fighting pancreatic cancer ... a diagnosis he went public with in 2017.

In a video he published in March of that year, Jose Jose told fans he was ready to take on this new adventure, while assuring them he'd fight through the illness.

José José was a rock star in the '70s and '80s, cranking out records like "El Triste," "El Amar y el Querer," "Almohada," "Vamos a Darnos Tiempo," and tons of others throughout his 60-plus-year career. He received two Lifetime Achievement Awards -- in 2004 and 2013, respectively -- as well as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Award in '05.

He was also nominated for several Grammy awards over the years, but was never quite able to snag the prize. He did, however, have a bunch of hits land on the Billboard Chart.

José José had 20 Hot Latin Songs hits, with four reaching No. 1 -- and even had 15 of his albums on the Top Latin Albums chart. Per Nielsen Music, he sold over 1.8 million albums in the U.S. ... not to mention the millions upon millions more across the world.

Several of his albums went gold and platinum many times over in different Latin American countries.

The guy also had a bit of an acting career too, starring in flicks and shows like "Sabor a mi," "Un sueno de amor," "Perdoname todo," "The Prettiest Ugly Girl" and more. He even had his life story played out in a TV series in 2018, which was based on his memoirs.

He's survived by his wife of 24 years, Sara, and his 6 children. José José was 71.