Post by pieter on Jan 3, 2014 15:13:41 GMT -7
Sixto Rodriguez
![http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2013/01/11/previews/Sixto%20Diaz%20Rodriguez-AES-084919.jpg](http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2013/01/11/previews/Sixto%20Diaz%20Rodriguez-AES-084919.jpg)
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (also known as Rodríguez or as Jesús Rodríguez; born July 10, 1942) is an American folk musician based in Detroit, Michigan. His career initially proved short lived, with two little-sold albums in the early 1970s and some brief touring in Australia. Unbeknownst to him, however, his work became extremely successful and influential in South Africa and at one point in time more famous than Elvis Presley to South African fans, although he was mistakenly rumored in that country to have committed suicide.
In the 1990s, determined South African fans managed to seek out and contact him, which led to an unexpected revival of his musical career. Their story is told in the 2012 Academy Award–winning documentary film, Searching for Sugar Man, which has also helped give Rodriguez a measure of fame in his native country.
On May 9, 2013, Rodriguez received an honorary doctorate, a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, from his alma mater, Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit, Michigan.
![http://www.ouifm.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Sixto-Diaz-Rodriguez_300x301.jpg](http://www.ouifm.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Sixto-Diaz-Rodriguez_300x301.jpg)
Early life
![](http://blogs.commercialappeal.com/the_bloodshot_eye/sugar/sugarman3.jpg)
Rodriguez was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was named Sixto (pronounced "Seex-toh") because he was the sixth child in his family. Rodriguez's parents were working class. His father was an immigrant who had come to the United States from Mexico in the 1920s, and his mother was also a Mexican immigrant. His family joined the larger wave of Mexicans journeying to the midwest to work in major industries. Mexicans in this area faced several periods of intense alienation and marginalization. In most of his songs he takes a political stance on the cruelties facing the inner city poor.
Rodriguez earned a Bachelor of Philosophy from Wayne State University's Monteith College in 1981.
![http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/parentesis/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/3-Singersongwriter-Sixto-Rodriguez-from-SEARCHING-FOR-SUGAR-MAN-directed-by-Malik-Bendjelloul.-Courtesy-of-Red-Box-Films-Passion-Pictures..jpg](http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/parentesis/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/3-Singersongwriter-Sixto-Rodriguez-from-SEARCHING-FOR-SUGAR-MAN-directed-by-Malik-Bendjelloul.-Courtesy-of-Red-Box-Films-Passion-Pictures..jpg)
Domestic record career
In 1967, under the name Rod Riguez, he released the single "I'll Slip Away" through the small label Impact. He did not produce anything for another three years until he was signed to Sussex Records, an offshoot of Buddah records.
After the move to Sussex, he changed his professional name to simply Rodriguez. Rodriguez recorded two albums with Sussex, Cold Fact in 1970 and Coming from Reality in 1971. But after both sold very few copies in the US, he was quickly dropped from the label, which folded in 1975. At the time of his release from the contract, Rodriguez was in the process of completing a third album, which has yet to be released.
After this happened, Rodriguez discontinued his music career and stayed in Detroit. There, he worked in several industries that revolved around manual labor, such as demolition, yet always stayed close to a state of poverty. Having remained politically active and motivated to improve the lives of the city's working-class inhabitants, Rodriguez registered and ran for city council in Detroit in 1989.
It was revealed in 2013 that Rodriguez has written 30 new songs and is in discussions with Steve Rowland, the producer of his "Coming From Reality" album. "I've written about thirty new songs", Rodriguez told Rolling Stone magazine. "He told me to send him a couple of tapes, so I'm gonna do that. I certainly want to look him up, because now he's full of ideas."
![http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4tIbbC4g0hg/UTXf75YZQ5I/AAAAAAAATB0/MTc7FPmhnP4/s400/Sixto-Rodriguez-008.jpg](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4tIbbC4g0hg/UTXf75YZQ5I/AAAAAAAATB0/MTc7FPmhnP4/s400/Sixto-Rodriguez-008.jpg)
Belated fame abroad
After failing to make an impact in North America, Rodriguez gave up his career as a musician. Although he was relatively unknown in his home country, by the mid-1970s, his albums were starting to gain airplay in South Africa, Botswana, Rhodesia (Modern-day Zimbabwe), New Zealand and Australia.
After imported copies of his Sussex albums ran dry, an Australian record label, Blue Goose Music, bought the Australian rights to his back catalogue in the mid-1970s. Blue Goose released his two studio albums, plus a compilation album, At His Best, featuring unreleased recordings from 1973: "Can't Get Away", "I'll Slip Away" (a re-recording of his first single), and "Street Boy".
Unbeknownst to Rodriguez, At His Best went platinum in South Africa, which at one stage was the major disc-press interest supplying his music to the rest of the world. He would often be compared to successful contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens. Additionally, some of his songs came to serve as anti-Apartheid anthems in South Africa, where his work influenced many musicians who protested against the government. It has been reported that anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko was a Rodriguez fan.
Rodriguez was also very successful in Australia in the 1970s and became aware of it enough to tour there extensively in 1979 and 1981.
In 1991, both his albums were released on CD in South Africa for the first time, which helped perpetuate his fame. Even in South Africa, however, few details of his life were known to his fans, and it was widely rumored and believed that Rodriguez had killed himself during a concert in the 1970s.
Despite the magnitude of his success abroad, Rodriguez's fame in South Africa had remained completely unknown to him until 1997, when his eldest daughter came across a website dedicated to him. After coming into contact with the authors of the website and learning of his long-standing fame in the country, Rodriguez went on his first South African tour, playing six concerts in front of thousands of fans. A documentary about the tour, Dead Men Don't Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa 1998, was later screened on SABC TV in 2001. Later he played in Sweden before returning to South Africa in 2001 and 2005.
![http://4.s.dziennik.pl/pliki/4389000/4389167-sugar-man-643-385.jpg](http://4.s.dziennik.pl/pliki/4389000/4389167-sugar-man-643-385.jpg)
In 1998, his signature song, "Sugar Man", was covered by the South African rock band Just Jinger. In 2002, the song was used by DJ David Holmes to open his mix album Come Get It I Got It, gaining Rodriguez international airplay again. "Sugar Man" had previously been sampled in the song "You're Da Man" from rapper Nas's 2001 album Stillmatic.
In April 2007 and 2010, he returned to Australia to play at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival, as well as shows in Melbourne and Sydney. His song "Sugar Man" was featured in the 2006 film Candy, starring Heath Ledger. Cornish singer-songwriter Ruarri Joseph covered Rodriguez's song "Rich Folks Hoax" for his third studio album. Rodríguez continues to tour in various countries.
Rodriguez's albums Cold Fact and Coming from Reality were re-released by Light in the Attic Records in 2009.
Belated success in the United States
Since the theatrical release of Searching for Sugar Man in 2012, Rodríguez has experienced a flush of media exposure and fan interest in the United States, as well as Europe. Rodriguez appeared as a musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman on August 14, 2012, performing "Crucify Your Mind", and performed "Can't Get Away" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 11, 2013.
Prominent news coverage has included a mid-August 2012 CNN feature story with an interview of Rodriguez discussing his life and career resurgence. On October 7, 2012, Rodriguez was featured on the highly rated US television news program 60 Minutes. On November 18, 2012, Rodriguez was interviewed on the UK Sunday morning news program The Andrew Marr Show, where he also played a short song over the closing credits. He performed on the BBC2 program Later... with Jools Holland on November 16, 2012, and was interviewed by Holland. Additionally, he has performed on the web on such notable web series as The Weekly Comet.
The film alleges that Rodriguez may have been cheated out of royalties over the years, specifically by Clarence Avant. This matter is still under investigation, and the legal issues are complicated. Rodriguez himself at first expressed indifference to these "symbols of success" but has since decided to pursue the matter.
On September 3, 2012, a Change.org petition was launched to have Rodriguez awarded a Kennedy Center Honor.
In addition to concerts in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, Rodriguez's tour schedule for 2013 includes his most notable US concerts to date, such as a stint at the Beacon Theatre in New York City in April and a spot at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, as well as other concerts in Europe. He played on the Park Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, England, in June 2013. On July 5, 2013, Rodriguez opened the prestigious Montreux Jazz festival. On August 10, 2013, Rodriguez headlined at the Wilderness Festival in the UK.
![http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2012/7/10/1341924547327/sixto-rodriquez-portrait-008.jpg](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2012/7/10/1341924547327/sixto-rodriquez-portrait-008.jpg)
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixto_Rodriguez
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixto_Rodriguez
ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Родригез,_Сиксто
![http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2013/01/11/previews/Sixto%20Diaz%20Rodriguez-AES-084919.jpg](http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2013/01/11/previews/Sixto%20Diaz%20Rodriguez-AES-084919.jpg)
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (also known as Rodríguez or as Jesús Rodríguez; born July 10, 1942) is an American folk musician based in Detroit, Michigan. His career initially proved short lived, with two little-sold albums in the early 1970s and some brief touring in Australia. Unbeknownst to him, however, his work became extremely successful and influential in South Africa and at one point in time more famous than Elvis Presley to South African fans, although he was mistakenly rumored in that country to have committed suicide.
In the 1990s, determined South African fans managed to seek out and contact him, which led to an unexpected revival of his musical career. Their story is told in the 2012 Academy Award–winning documentary film, Searching for Sugar Man, which has also helped give Rodriguez a measure of fame in his native country.
On May 9, 2013, Rodriguez received an honorary doctorate, a Doctor of Humane Letters degree, from his alma mater, Wayne State University (WSU) in Detroit, Michigan.
![http://www.ouifm.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Sixto-Diaz-Rodriguez_300x301.jpg](http://www.ouifm.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Sixto-Diaz-Rodriguez_300x301.jpg)
Early life
![](http://blogs.commercialappeal.com/the_bloodshot_eye/sugar/sugarman3.jpg)
Rodriguez was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was named Sixto (pronounced "Seex-toh") because he was the sixth child in his family. Rodriguez's parents were working class. His father was an immigrant who had come to the United States from Mexico in the 1920s, and his mother was also a Mexican immigrant. His family joined the larger wave of Mexicans journeying to the midwest to work in major industries. Mexicans in this area faced several periods of intense alienation and marginalization. In most of his songs he takes a political stance on the cruelties facing the inner city poor.
Rodriguez earned a Bachelor of Philosophy from Wayne State University's Monteith College in 1981.
![http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/parentesis/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/3-Singersongwriter-Sixto-Rodriguez-from-SEARCHING-FOR-SUGAR-MAN-directed-by-Malik-Bendjelloul.-Courtesy-of-Red-Box-Films-Passion-Pictures..jpg](http://www.pulsamerica.co.uk/parentesis/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/3-Singersongwriter-Sixto-Rodriguez-from-SEARCHING-FOR-SUGAR-MAN-directed-by-Malik-Bendjelloul.-Courtesy-of-Red-Box-Films-Passion-Pictures..jpg)
Domestic record career
In 1967, under the name Rod Riguez, he released the single "I'll Slip Away" through the small label Impact. He did not produce anything for another three years until he was signed to Sussex Records, an offshoot of Buddah records.
After the move to Sussex, he changed his professional name to simply Rodriguez. Rodriguez recorded two albums with Sussex, Cold Fact in 1970 and Coming from Reality in 1971. But after both sold very few copies in the US, he was quickly dropped from the label, which folded in 1975. At the time of his release from the contract, Rodriguez was in the process of completing a third album, which has yet to be released.
After this happened, Rodriguez discontinued his music career and stayed in Detroit. There, he worked in several industries that revolved around manual labor, such as demolition, yet always stayed close to a state of poverty. Having remained politically active and motivated to improve the lives of the city's working-class inhabitants, Rodriguez registered and ran for city council in Detroit in 1989.
It was revealed in 2013 that Rodriguez has written 30 new songs and is in discussions with Steve Rowland, the producer of his "Coming From Reality" album. "I've written about thirty new songs", Rodriguez told Rolling Stone magazine. "He told me to send him a couple of tapes, so I'm gonna do that. I certainly want to look him up, because now he's full of ideas."
![http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4tIbbC4g0hg/UTXf75YZQ5I/AAAAAAAATB0/MTc7FPmhnP4/s400/Sixto-Rodriguez-008.jpg](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4tIbbC4g0hg/UTXf75YZQ5I/AAAAAAAATB0/MTc7FPmhnP4/s400/Sixto-Rodriguez-008.jpg)
Belated fame abroad
After failing to make an impact in North America, Rodriguez gave up his career as a musician. Although he was relatively unknown in his home country, by the mid-1970s, his albums were starting to gain airplay in South Africa, Botswana, Rhodesia (Modern-day Zimbabwe), New Zealand and Australia.
After imported copies of his Sussex albums ran dry, an Australian record label, Blue Goose Music, bought the Australian rights to his back catalogue in the mid-1970s. Blue Goose released his two studio albums, plus a compilation album, At His Best, featuring unreleased recordings from 1973: "Can't Get Away", "I'll Slip Away" (a re-recording of his first single), and "Street Boy".
Unbeknownst to Rodriguez, At His Best went platinum in South Africa, which at one stage was the major disc-press interest supplying his music to the rest of the world. He would often be compared to successful contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens. Additionally, some of his songs came to serve as anti-Apartheid anthems in South Africa, where his work influenced many musicians who protested against the government. It has been reported that anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko was a Rodriguez fan.
Rodriguez was also very successful in Australia in the 1970s and became aware of it enough to tour there extensively in 1979 and 1981.
In 1991, both his albums were released on CD in South Africa for the first time, which helped perpetuate his fame. Even in South Africa, however, few details of his life were known to his fans, and it was widely rumored and believed that Rodriguez had killed himself during a concert in the 1970s.
Despite the magnitude of his success abroad, Rodriguez's fame in South Africa had remained completely unknown to him until 1997, when his eldest daughter came across a website dedicated to him. After coming into contact with the authors of the website and learning of his long-standing fame in the country, Rodriguez went on his first South African tour, playing six concerts in front of thousands of fans. A documentary about the tour, Dead Men Don't Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa 1998, was later screened on SABC TV in 2001. Later he played in Sweden before returning to South Africa in 2001 and 2005.
![http://4.s.dziennik.pl/pliki/4389000/4389167-sugar-man-643-385.jpg](http://4.s.dziennik.pl/pliki/4389000/4389167-sugar-man-643-385.jpg)
In 1998, his signature song, "Sugar Man", was covered by the South African rock band Just Jinger. In 2002, the song was used by DJ David Holmes to open his mix album Come Get It I Got It, gaining Rodriguez international airplay again. "Sugar Man" had previously been sampled in the song "You're Da Man" from rapper Nas's 2001 album Stillmatic.
In April 2007 and 2010, he returned to Australia to play at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival, as well as shows in Melbourne and Sydney. His song "Sugar Man" was featured in the 2006 film Candy, starring Heath Ledger. Cornish singer-songwriter Ruarri Joseph covered Rodriguez's song "Rich Folks Hoax" for his third studio album. Rodríguez continues to tour in various countries.
Rodriguez's albums Cold Fact and Coming from Reality were re-released by Light in the Attic Records in 2009.
Belated success in the United States
Since the theatrical release of Searching for Sugar Man in 2012, Rodríguez has experienced a flush of media exposure and fan interest in the United States, as well as Europe. Rodriguez appeared as a musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman on August 14, 2012, performing "Crucify Your Mind", and performed "Can't Get Away" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 11, 2013.
Prominent news coverage has included a mid-August 2012 CNN feature story with an interview of Rodriguez discussing his life and career resurgence. On October 7, 2012, Rodriguez was featured on the highly rated US television news program 60 Minutes. On November 18, 2012, Rodriguez was interviewed on the UK Sunday morning news program The Andrew Marr Show, where he also played a short song over the closing credits. He performed on the BBC2 program Later... with Jools Holland on November 16, 2012, and was interviewed by Holland. Additionally, he has performed on the web on such notable web series as The Weekly Comet.
The film alleges that Rodriguez may have been cheated out of royalties over the years, specifically by Clarence Avant. This matter is still under investigation, and the legal issues are complicated. Rodriguez himself at first expressed indifference to these "symbols of success" but has since decided to pursue the matter.
On September 3, 2012, a Change.org petition was launched to have Rodriguez awarded a Kennedy Center Honor.
In addition to concerts in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, Rodriguez's tour schedule for 2013 includes his most notable US concerts to date, such as a stint at the Beacon Theatre in New York City in April and a spot at this year's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, as well as other concerts in Europe. He played on the Park Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, England, in June 2013. On July 5, 2013, Rodriguez opened the prestigious Montreux Jazz festival. On August 10, 2013, Rodriguez headlined at the Wilderness Festival in the UK.
![http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2012/7/10/1341924547327/sixto-rodriquez-portrait-008.jpg](http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2012/7/10/1341924547327/sixto-rodriquez-portrait-008.jpg)
pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixto_Rodriguez
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixto_Rodriguez
ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Родригез,_Сиксто