The celebrated French flamenco guitarist Manitas de Plata - "Little Hands of Silver" - has died in the south of France at the age of 93, reports the BBC.
During a long international career he sold 93 million records.
Born Ricardo Baliardos in a Gypsy caravan, he mastered the guitar as a child without being able to read music.
He recorded his first album in 1963 and went on a world tour after a triumphant concert at New York's Carnegie Hall.
As a rising star, he frequented cafes on the French Riviera and associated with celebrities including actress Brigitte Bardot and the artists Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali.
He had dozens of offspring, and once admitted he could not say for sure how many children he had. Among his children, reports suggest, were various members of the popular Gypsy Kings group.