Funk and pop saxophonist Jimmy Castor, best known for his hit It’s Just Begun, has died of apparent heart failure in a Las Vegas hospital.

His son Jimmy said the singer, songwriter and instrumentalist from New York City died on Monday at the age of 71. He had been in hospital since November before undergoing quadruple bypass surgery.

Jimmy Jr said he had seen his father’s 1972 song, It’s Just Begun, performed hundreds of times, and his works had been sampled by top performers, including Kanye West, Ice Cube, the Spice Girls and Madonna.

The younger Castor said: “No matter what country you’re in, no matter what language you speak, everyone knows it.”