The Canadian blind rock and jazz guitar player, singer and songwriter Jeff Healey, died at 41, in a Toronto hospital Sunday night, his official website announced.

Healey’s publicist, Richard Flohil, told the Canwest News Service that Healey had canceled a concert near Ottawa a few days ago, as he was hospitalized in St.Joseph’s hospital for treatment of cancer in his legs and lungs.

“At that point, we didn't want to say that Jeff was basically dying, although we all knew he was." Flohil said. "What we've lost is a virtuoso musician.”

The guitarist lost his sight when he was 1 year old, due to a rare form of cancer known as retinoblastoma. He first picked up the guitar at the age of three. Due to his blindness, Healey taught himself to play guitar in a special position, placing the instrument across his lap.

He formed his first band when he was 17 and in 1982, he was discovered by the well-known jazz guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan in a bar in Toronto. He released many albums over the next 20 years.

In 1988, Healey’s best selling album “See the Light,” which included the hit single “Angel Eyes,” was nominated at the Grammy Awards.

Despite his continuous struggle with cancer, the blind musician undertook several tours across Canada with both his blues band and his jazz band.

He is survived by his wife, Christie, his daughter Rachel (13) and his son Derek (3), as well as by his father and step-mother.