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.
Who are Sixto Rodriguez’s Parents?
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.
Sixto Rodriguez’s Dad: Who is Sixto Rodriguez’s father?
There is no information regarding who the father of Sixto Rodriguez or what he does for a living
What does Sixto Rodriguez’s Dad do for a living?
There is no information regarding who the father of Sixto Rodriguez or what he does for a living
Sixto Rodriguez’s Mom: Who is Sixto Rodriguez’s mother?
There is no information regarding who the mother of Sixto Rodriguez or what she does for a living
What does Sixto Rodriguez’s Mom do for a living?
There is no information regarding who the mother of Sixto Rodriguez or what she does for a living
Does Sixto Rodriguez have siblings?
As the six son, Sixto Rodriguez has elder siblings who are five in number.
Source: www.Ghgossip.com
Categories: News
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