Sixto Rodriguez was an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan and though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
Sixto Rodriguez the musician and subject of the documentary Searching for Sugar Man died at the age of 81 on August 8. Sixto Rodriguez wrote and sang on the rough streets of Detroit in 1970 and is considered by many in the music world to be a Bob Dylan-like talent. His lyrics, set in a raspy emotional voice, are about the homeless and the working poor.
His fame skyrocketed after the documentary and he performed at top music festivals such as Glastonbury in the UK and the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Sugarman.org did not disclose the cause of death, but earlier this year he was said to have undergone surgery to repair damage from a stroke in February.
- 1 Sixto Rodriguez’s Biography
- 2 Sixto Rodriguez’s Nationality
- 3 Sixto Rodriguez’s Net Worth
- 4 Where is Sixto Rodriguez from?
- 5 How old is Sixto Rodriguez?
- 6 Sixto Rodriguez’s Height & Weight
- 7 Sixto Rodriguez’s Career
- 8 Sixto Rodriguez’s Marital Status
- 9 Sixto Rodriguez’s Family & Siblings
- 10 Why is Sixto Rodriguez famous?
- 11 Sixto Rodriguez’s Children
- 12 Sixto Rodriguez’s Social Media
Sixto Rodriguez’s Biography
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez born on July 10, 1942, and died on August 8, 2023, was an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in South Africa, Australia (touring the country twice in his earlier career), and New Zealand.
He was unknown for decades, but his music was extremely successful and influential in South Africa, where he is said to have sold more records than Elvis Presley, as well as in other countries. Information about him is scant and there are false rumors that he died by suicide shortly after the release of his second album.
In the 1990s, determined South African fans found and contacted Rodriguez, which led to an unexpected resurgence in his musical career. It was recounted in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man and helped bring Rodriguez some fame back home. In May 2013, Rodriguez received an Honorary Doctorate in Humanitarian Letters from his alma mater, Wayne State University, in Detroit.
Rodriguez lives in Detroit’s historic Woodbridge neighborhood, where he is seen strolling in Search of Sugar Man. He lives a simple life, doesn’t own a phone, and occasionally goes to bars in Detroit’s Cass Corridor neighborhood near Woodbridge and Midtown, such as the Old Miami pub, where he performs live concerts to the small local crowd.
In 1967, under the name “Rod Riguez” (given by his label), he released the single “I’ll Slip Away” on the small Impact label. He didn’t record again for three years until he signed with Sussex Records, a subsidiary of Buddah Records.
He then used his preferred professional name, “Rodriguez”. He recorded two albums with Sussex, Cold Fact in 1970 and Coming from Reality in 1971. However, both sold few copies in the United States and he was quickly abandoned by Sussex, which closed itself. When he was fired, he was recording a third album that was never released.
Rodriguez gave up his music career and in 1976, he bought an abandoned house in Detroit at a government auction for $50 (US$257 as of 2022). which he is still living in. He works in demolition and production lines, consistently earning a low income. He remained politically active and motivated to improve the lives of the city’s working-class residents and repeatedly ran unsuccessfully for public office: for the Detroit City Council in 1989, for the Mayor of Detroit in 1981 and 1993, and for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2000.
In 2013, it was announced that Rodriguez was 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 want to look him up, because now he’s full of ideas.”
Although Rodriguez was still relatively unknown in his home country, by the mid-1970s his albums had begun to be widely circulated in Australia, Botswana, New Zealand, Rhodesia, and South Africa.
When imported copies of his Sussex album sold out, an Australian record company, Blue Goose Music, bought the Australian rights to his recordings. Blue Goose has released two studio albums as well as a compilation album, At His Best, which includes unreleased recordings since 1973 – “Can’t Get Away”, “I’ll Slip Away” (version Version) re-recorded his first single), and “Street Boy”.
Despite his success abroad, Rodriguez’s fame in South Africa remained unknown until 1997, when his eldest daughter, Eva, stumbled across a website dedicated to him. After contacting the site and learning of his popularity in the country, Rodriguez went on his first South Africa tour, performing six concerts in front of thousands of fans. A documentary, Dead Men Don’t Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa in 1998, was shown on SABC TV in 2001. He also performed in Sweden before returning to South Africa in 2001 and 2005.
After the cinematic release of Searching for Sugar Man in 2012, Rodriguez experienced a flush of media exposure and fan interest in the United States, as well as Europe. He appeared as a musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman on August 14, 2012, performing “Crucify Your Mind” and “Can’t Get Away” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 11, 2013.
In 2015, Craig Bartholomew Strydom and Stephen “Sugar” Segerman published a book called Sugar Man: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Sixto Rodriguez. A Business Day review called the book “perhaps one of the more unusual rock ‘n roll stories”.
Rodriguez has toured the United States and Canada as recently as 2018. He began his tour in August 2018, ending with a performance in his hometown at Detroit’s Garden Theater. Rodriguez and his rediscovery are the subject of the Outlook 2022 episode on BBC World Service.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Nationality
Sixto Rodriguez was an American born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Net Worth
Sixto Rodriguez is an American musician who has a net worth of $5 million.
Where is Sixto Rodriguez from?
Sixto Rodriguez is from Detroit the largest city in the midwestern state of Michigan. Near Downtown, the neoclassical Detroit Institute of Arts is famed for the Detroit Industry Murals painted by Diego Rivera, and inspired by the city’s ties to the auto industry, giving it the nickname “Motor City.”
How old is Sixto Rodriguez?
Born July 10, 1942, Sixto Rodriguez was 81 years at the time of his demise.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Height & Weight
Sixto Rodriguez is 6 feet tall and weighs 70 kg.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Career
In 1967, under the name “Rod Riguez” (given by his label), he released the single “I’ll Slip Away” on the small Impact label. He didn’t record again for three years until he signed with Sussex Records, a subsidiary of Buddah Records.
He then used his preferred professional name, “Rodriguez”. He recorded two albums with Sussex, Cold Fact in 1970 and Coming from Reality in 1971. However, both sold few copies in the United States and he was quickly abandoned by Sussex, which closed itself. At the time he was fired, he was recording a third album that was never released.
Rodriguez gave up his music career and in 1976, he bought an abandoned house in Detroit at a government auction for $50 (US$257 as of 2022). which he is still living in. He works in demolition and production lines, always earning a low income. He remained politically active and motivated to improve the lives of the city’s working-class residents and repeatedly ran unsuccessfully for public office: for the Detroit City Council in 1989, for the Mayor of Detroit in 1981 and 1993, and for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2000.
In 2013, it was announced that Rodriguez was 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.”
Although Rodriguez was still relatively unknown in his home country, by the mid-1970s his albums had begun to be widely circulated in Australia, Botswana, New Zealand, Rhodesia, and South Africa.
When imported copies of his Sussex album sold out, an Australian record company, Blue Goose Music, bought the Australian rights to his recordings. Blue Goose has released two studio albums as well as a compilation album, At His Best, which includes unreleased recordings since 1973 – “Can’t Get Away”, “I’ll Slip Away” (version Version) re-recorded his first single), and “Street Boy”.
Despite his success abroad, Rodriguez’s fame in South Africa remained unknown to him until 1997, when his eldest daughter, Eva, stumbled across a website dedicated to him. After contacting the site and learning of his popularity in the country, Rodriguez went on his first South Africa tour, performing six concerts in front of thousands of fans. A documentary, Dead Men Don’t Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa in 1998, was shown on SABC TV in 2001. He also performed in Sweden before returning to South Africa in 2001 and 2005.
After the cinematic release of Searching for Sugar Man in 2012, Rodriguez experienced a flush of media exposure and fan interest in the United States, as well as Europe. He 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.
In 2015, Craig Bartholomew Strydom and Stephen “Sugar” Segerman published a book called Sugar Man: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Sixto Rodriguez. A Business Day review called the book “perhaps one of the more unusual rock ‘n roll stories”.
Rodriguez has toured the United States and Canada as recently as 2018. He began his tour in August 2018, ending with a performance in his hometown at Detroit’s Garden Theater. Rodriguez and his rediscovery are the subject of the Outlook 2022 episode on BBC World Service.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Marital Status
Sito Rodriguez was married to Konny Rodriguez. Konny Rodriguez is best known as the second wife of Rodriguez, they married in 1984. Konny Rodriguez said she and Sixto Rodriguez met in 1972 while both were students at Wayne State University in Detroit and married in the early 1980s.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Family & Siblings
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez was born in Detroit, Michigan and is the sixth child in a family of working-class Mexican immigrant parents. He was named Sixto (pronounced “Seex-toh”) because he was their sixth son.
His father immigrated from Mexico to the United States in the 1920s; His mother is Native American. They joined the large influx of Mexicans who came to the Midwest to work in Detroit’s industries.
Why is Sixto Rodriguez famous?
Sixto Rodriguez is famous for the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugarman”
Sixto Rodriguez’s Children
Sixto Rodriguez has three daughters named Eva, Regan, and Sandra.
Born on February 4, 1963, 60 years old Eva Rodriguez is believed to be the eldest daughter of Sixto Rodriguez. She is reportedly a set decorator but has kept her personal life away from the media hence there’s nothing known about her personal life.
Regan Rodriguez is believed to be the third child of Sixto Rodriguez and is known for Dead Men Don’t Tour: Rodríguez in South Africa (1998), Searching for Sugar Man (2012), and 60 Minutes (1968). Just like her sister, she has also kept her personal life away from the media.
Sandra Rodriguez-Kennedy is believed to be the second daughter of Sixto Rodriguez. She appeared in the movie Dead Men Don’t Tour: Rodríguez in South Africa.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Social Media
Sixto Rodriguez seems not to be on any social media platform as there’s no handle that could be linked to him.
Source: www.Ghgossip.com
Categories: News
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