Arroyo, whose most famous hit was La Rebelion, began singing in brothels in the Caribbean city of Cartagena at the age of eight.
He went on to sing for a number of Colombia's most famous salsa groups.
But he also drew on a rich heritage of other Afro-Colombian rhythms during his career, and composed over 100 songs.
His wife said Arroyo died 'peacefully' in Barranquilla, another Colombian city on the Caribbean coast.
'A great loss for music and for Colombia' was how one fan - the country's president, Juan Manuel Santos - described Arroyo's death on the social network, Twitter.
