Rodriguez Artistfacts

July 10, 1942 - August 8, 2023
Rodriguez is Sixto Rodriguez, the sixth child of immigrant Mexican parents. His first name is pronounced "Seez-toe." His first-ever release, the 1967 single "I'll Slip Away," was credited to "Rod Riguez."
He's from Detroit, where he recorded his only two albums: Cold Fact (1970) and Coming from Reality (1971). He wallowed in obscurity in his homeland, but unbeknownst to Rodriguez, those albums gained cult status in Australia and South Africa, where he was a top seller… yet received no royalties.

He toured Australia in 1979, and again in 1981 on a bill with Midnight Oil. After that tour he returned to seclusion.

In 1998, he finally toured South Africa, where he was a star. In 2012 the documentary Searching for Sugar Man chronicled his strange story. Along with the success of the film's soundtrack, it finally broke the singer/songwriter in the US.
The producer of Rodriguez's second album, 1971's Coming from Reality, was Steve Rowland, who later discovered such renowned New Wave/alt-rock acts as The Cure and the Thompson Twins.
A Seattle label called Light In The Attic reissued his albums in the US for the first time in 2008, then again when Searching For Sugar Man was released in 2012.
Searching for Sugar Man won the Oscar for Best Documentary. Rodriguez was invited to the ceremony but didn't attend, as he didn't want the attention.
In 1989, Rodríguez ran for city council in Detroit, but failed to win.
Searching for Sugar Man got the most visibility, but there were many efforts to track down Rodriguez long before it was made. In 1997, the website The Great Rodriguez Hunt, set up by Stephen Segerman, was established with the goal of finding him. A year later, Segerman made contact with Rodriguez's daughter, Eva, who told him that her dad was alive and well, living in Detroit.
He was discovered by Motown session musician Dennis Coffey and Coffey's associate, Mike Theodore; the pair produced and played on his two albums.
Rodriguez died on August 8, 2023, aged 81. He suffered a stroke in the months before his death and struggled with illness afterward.

Comments: 1

Roberto Reveles from ArizonaAnother member of our submerged community whose contributions are ignored at home but recognized from afar. Gracias Maestro Sixto Rodríguez por el rico regalo de herencia y poderosa humildad.

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