MADRID (AFP) - The celebrated Spanish flamenco singer Antonio Nunez Montoya, known as "The Chocolate," died in the southern city of Seville from lung cancer, family members said. He was 75 years old.

A flamenco legend, he rose to fame in the 1950s as his voice had just the right pitch for the "gypsy" songs he performed.

Born in 1931 in Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain, Montoya began singing at the age of nine in the taverns of Seville, the capital of Andalusia, relegating to second place his other passion, football.

He gave concerts up until the last few months of his life despite suffering with cancer.

He was nicknamed "Chocolate" because of his dark skin, his wife Rosa told radio Cadena Sur.

His friend and flamenco specialist Manuel Herrera said Montoya's passing was "the loss of the last legend of Flamenco."

He will be buried Thursday in Seville.