Soca pioneer Arrow, whose hit song `Hot, Hot, Hot` made him famous internationally, has passed away at the age of 56.

The singer passed away on Wednesday at his home in Montserrat after a battle with cancer, according to news reports.

Arrow had been battling brain cancer since 2007, and was recently treated in Antigua.

Born Alphonsus Celestine Edmund Cassell, Arrow is regarded as the first superstar of soca. He took up singing professionally in 1969 and in that same year was the runner up in the Montserrat Calypso King competition. He went on to win the title the following year. He released his first single, `Dance with Me, Woman` in 1972, and set up his own Arrow label in 1973. 1974 saw the release of debut album The Mighty Arrow on Target, followed in 1975 with Arrow Strikes Again.

He won the Road March competition at the 1975 St. Kitts festival with `Rummy Song.`

Arrow began to fuse calypso with other genres such as R&B, Zouk and salsa and in 1982 he worked with arranger Leston Paul and with his Multi National Force band to record the album `Hot Hot Hot.`

The title track became his first pan-Caribbean hit and the biggest selling soca hit of all time. It was adopted as the theme song of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, and was later covered by David Johansen (in his Buster Poindexter alter ego), Menudo, and Babla & Kanchan.

Arrow also established himself as a businessman in Montserrat, owning the Arrow`s Manshop store in Plymouth. When it was destroyed by the Soufriere Hills volcanic eruption, he relocated to Salem. He organized a fundraising calypso festival on the island in 1996, in response to the devastation caused by the volcano.

Arrow continued to be much in demand in the Caribbean and most recently performed at the Cricket World Cup 2007 opening ceremonies with Shaggy, Byron Lee and Kevin Lyttle.