Legendary Dominican singer Johnny Ventura died Wednesday at the age of 81, according to officials in the Dominican Republic.
"The Ministry of Culture deeply regrets the death of the great Dominican musician Johnny Ventura," the government entity tweeted in Spanish.
The late singer began his music career in the early 1960s after joining several Latin music orchestras.
Ventura, who was deemed as the "Elvis of merengue" by some in the music industry, recorded dozens of albums throughout his 60-year career.
He won six Latin Music Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006 to honor his "contributions of outstanding artistic significance to Latin music," according to the Latin Recording Academy.
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