"Me and Mrs. Jones" Singer Billy Paul Dies Of Cancer

(AllHipHop News) The world of music suffered another loss tonight (April 24) with the death of musician Billy Paul from pancreatic cancer.

Billy Paul’s #1 hit song “Me and Mrs. Jones” was released in 1972 on the album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul.

While he never had a single a huge as “Me and Mrs. Jones,” Billy Paul, 80, leaves behind an influential body of work that includes the albums Ebony Woman, War of The Gods and others.

Billy Paul’s music has been sampled by a variety of Hip-Hop artists including Rick Ross and Game, Gangstarr, J. Dilla, Young Jeezy, Ludacris and Wu-Tang Clan to name a few.

The Grammy Award winning singer recorded for Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records. The legendary producers discussed Billy Paul’s legacy in a statement to AllHipHop.com:

“We are very saddened to learn of the sudden death of our good friend and Philadelphia International Records recording artist Billy Paul. From the time we saw Billy performing live, and then signing him to our PIR/TSOP label, we immediately realized that we had discovered and launched one the most unique voices in the music industry. Billy’s voice combined both Jazz, R&B and Soul vocals, making him one the great artists to come out of Philly and to be celebrated worldwide. Our proudest moment with Billy was the recording of the salacious smash ‘Me and Mrs. Jones.’ In our view, it is one of the greatest love songs ever recorded. Billy was one of the first artists to help launch the PIR/TSOP brand, and he will forever have a special place in music history.”