Rodriguez was a Mexican-American folk musician born in 1942 in Detroit, Michigan who struggled to pursue his musical career due to coming from a low-income family. He released two albums in the 1970s that failed to gain success in North America but became hugely popular in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Rodriguez disappeared from the music industry and it was believed he had died, but in 1998 he was rediscovered when his daughter found online fan sites dedicated to his music. He went on tour in South Africa and was overwhelmed by the fanfare, having no idea of his cult following overseas. Multiple documentaries were later made about his incredible story.

1. By: Ellen Del Aguila

2. Rodriguez is a
singer/songwrite
r Mexican-
American Folk
Musician born
on July 10, 1942
in Detroit
Michigan.

3. Growing up in a lower working
class family, it made it hard for
him to pursue his dream of
music. He would go around to
clubs and cafes where he would
play a song on his guitar to
anyone who would listen.
Rodriguez’ music was unique,
from the folk to the edgy Rock’n
Roll style, that some people
were not used to.

4. Something that is powerful about
his music is the political stance
he takes on the numerous
hardships and cruelty that the
working class face. This can also
be heard in the melancholy and
tone in some of his music.

5. He had a Glimpse of hope in 1966 when
he released his very first single “I’ll Slip
Away” through a small record label. For a
couple years it went unnoticed, and he
thought that maybe that was the extent of
his music career.

6. Rodriguez finally got noticed and was
signed by Sussex Records three years
after the release of his single. He created
two albums, Cold Fact in1970, and Coming
From Reality in 1971. The success of the
albums were disappointing and not at all
what had been expected. Due to the
publics lack of excitement and low album
sale he was dropped from the label.

7. With a heavy heart and failed to
make any kind of impact on North
America he accepted the fact that
his career as a musician was over.
Although his does not mean he
put his guitar down for good.
In this time he even ran for Detroit
City Council but they could not even
spell his name right.

8. Little did he know
that his albums
had gone all the
way to South Africa
where he was
turning into a
celebrity. It not only
traveled to South
Africa but to New
Zealand and
Australia as well.
No one knew
where he was or
even if he was
alive.

9. There were many rumors of his
death, including that he OD’d or even
shot himself on stage. This was all
because after decades of searching
for Sixto no one knew where he was.
He had essentially fallen off the face
of the earth into the real world where
he worked as a carpenter. He also
went back to school and gained a
degree in philosophy and degree in
arts in philosophy at Wayne State
University’s Monteith college in 1981.

10. To his fans
excitement a
record label in
Australia called
Blue Goose Music
bought the rights to
the back catalogue
in Africa after the
albums there had
dried up. This
included studio
albums and even a
compilation of
recordings from
previous recording
sessions. It is
crazy to think that
this was all going

11. After years of being in the dark about his
escalating fame he was finally found when in
1998 his daughter stumbled upon a website
that was dedicated to him. After everyone
discovered that he was indeed alive he was
sent to South Africa to see all his fans and
perform for them.

12. He was overwhelmed by the
acceptance and fame he
received when he got to
South Africa. On hi first South
Africa tour he had six
concerts with packed
audiences of more than one
thousand dedicated fans. This
is something he could never
prepare himself, especially
since he had already
accepted the fact that there
was no music career for him
or his music.

13. He also did
tours in
Australia many
times. The
shows from the
tours in
Australia were
recorded and
released on the
Alive album.
The title was
created from all
the rumors of
Sixto being
dead all this
time.

14. There were multiple documentaries made
about Rodriguez. “Dead Men Don’t tour:
Sixto Rodriguez in South Africa 1998”
was released in 2001 and showed the
journey of his tours and growing fame.
“Searching for Sugar man” was created
by two young journalist who were trying to
figure out if Sixto was really dead or not.
It also had interviews with some of his
fans and they explained that he was as
famous as Jimmy Hendrix.

15. He than played tours in
Sweden and returned to
South Africa in 2001 and
2005.
A journalist by the name
of Stephen Robert Morse
launched the change.org
petition to have
Rodriguez awarded
Kennedy center honor.
He went on to gain many
awards and a platinum.

16. I believe that anyone can learn from
Sixto Rodriguez’ journey. He went
through many obstacles, including
people constantly telling him he
couldn’t do it. It may not have
happened at the time he was
expecting it to but not everything does.
Like many other musicians who were
put down because of their music style
and ethnicity, he was very persistent.

17. Growing up with the hardships and
disempowerment that many people like him know
far too well, would take a lot of courage to break
out of the norm. These are the people that are
remembered even years after they are gone. I am
glad that he has witnessed the acceptance that he
disserved. Seeing all the people wanting to award
him and be able to say they met this great man just
shows that he was noticed.

18. • "About Rodriguez." Rodriguez. N.p., 16 July 2012. Web.
12
Dec. 2014.
• "Rodriguez: Forgotten In America, Exalted In Africa."
NPR. NPR,
n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.