Singer songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, known as Rodriguez and documented in the movie ‘Searching for the Sugarman’, has died in Detroit at age 81.
Watch the Noise11.com interview with Rodriguez:
Rodriguez released two albums ‘Cold Fact’ in 1970 and ‘Coming From Reality’ in 1971, both of which sold near nothing in their day. It wasn’t until the start of radio station 2 Double J in Sydney, Australia giving the albums airplay in the mid 70s in Australia that Rodriguez suddenly developed a cult following. The albums had recently been licensed by a small independent record company in Australia, Blue Goose Music. They then released a compilation of his two albums called ‘At His Best’ in Australia.
Rodriguez also started to be noticed in South Africa and New Zealand around that time but didn’t even know about his success in South Africa until much later. That became the basis of the ‘Searching for the Sugar Man’ movie.
The Rodriguez momentum was enough for an Australian promoter to bring Rodriguez to Australia to tour in 1979 and 1981.
Rodriguez also toured Australia in 2016, 2014, 2013, 2010, 2007 as well as 1981 and 1979. For the 2013 tour he was backed by The Break, featuring members of Midnight Oil with Violent Femmes Brian Ritchie.
Even after all of Rodriguez’s international success after he was discovered in the mid 70s, he never released another studio album.
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