Searching for Sugar Man’ *Original Music Picture Soundtrack. This is an extraordinary story about a 1970’s
recording artist born Sixto Diaz
Rodriguez, a Detroit native (The the 6th child of
Mexican immigrants whom had migrated to the USA in 1920’s), who really never had
a claim to fame back in the late 1960s and early 1970’s when he recorded and
released 2 albums. He originally
released 3 singles in the late 1960’s, which one was ‘I’ll Slip Away’. With not
much success in the USA, he later moved to Sussex and changed his name to just Rodriguez, and released 2 albums; #1
COLD FACT, in 1970, and #2 COMING FROM REALITY in 1971. With
little success, he was dropped from his record label; Rodriguez then gave up
the music business, and became a demolition worker.
Rodriguez
was relatively unknown in his home country, but by the mid-'70s his albums were
starting to gain popularity in South Africa, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, and Australia. Without
his knowledge, Blue Goose Music in Australia bought the rights to his catalog and in the mid-70’s they re-released his earlier albums and first singles, and
it went platinum in South Africa, where he had somewhat of a cult following.
All
the new hype ended up with Rodriguez touring Australia in 1979 with the Mark Gillespie Band
as support. Two shows from the tour were later released on the Australian-only
album Alive—the title
being a play on the rumors caused by his public obscurity that he had died
years ago. After the '79 tour, he returned to Australia for a final tour in
1981 with Midnight Oil before he returned to his normal life, gaining a bachelors degree
in philosophy while working as a demolition man.
In
1990’s his daughter discovered a website dedicated to him by his fans, and that
he had genuine Star Status in South Africa. His working class hero songs became
the voice of the 90’s anti-apartheid movement. He was their Dylan, Lenard
Cohen, and James Taylor all rolled into one.
To
make a long story short, and later a documentary “Searching For Sugar Man” came
about because of the rumors that Rodriguez’s had died a tragic death; he set
himself on fire on stage. Two guys by the name of Stephan ‘Sugar’
Segerman and Craig Bartholomew-Strydom set out to find out how his music came
to South Africa and what really did happen to their hero, which lead to the
making of the documentary. Rodriguez is alive and well. He recently appeared on
David Letterman (August 14,2012), and CNN aired a feature story with interview of Rodriguez discussing
his life and career resurgence. Now at the age of 70 he will benefit from his new found success some 30 years later.
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