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Artist
Rodríguez
12+ albums
folkpsychedelicsinger-songwriterpsychedelic folkPsychedelic Rock
about
Few artists have become as mythical or taken a more circuitous route to fame than Detroit, Michigan's Sixto Rodriguez. A commercial nonentity in the late '60s, Rodriguez chronicled personal apocalypses and a cratering Detroit with hard-hitting, -inspired imagery over richly embroidered folk-funk. After quitting the business for a day job, the singer/songwriter gained fame in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, where his debut masterpiece, Cold Fact, went multi-platinum. Finally unearthed in the late '90s, Rodriguez saw his discography reissued to ringing (and decidedly deserved) critical plaudits. This renaissance was a result of the 2012 Academy Award-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man and its companion soundtrack, which followed two of Rodriguez fans in their quest to discover the fate of one of their most beloved artists. As a result, Rodriguez's music reached untold numbers of new listeners, and he toured sporadically before his death in 2023. Born in Detroit in 1942, Sixto Diaz Rodriguez came from a working-class background and dropped out of high school at the age of 16. Dividing his time between hanging around the university campus and playing assorted unconventional clubs and bars, he was introduced to Impact's Harry Balk, which led to the recording of his first single, "I'll Slip Away," in 1967. When Balk took off for a career as a creative director at , session players and ardent Rodriguez supporters and Mike Theodore put him under the direction of
top songs
albums
Cold Fact
Coming From Reality
Searching For Sugar Man
Searching For Sugar Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Record Store Day 7"
Sem Eira Nem Beira
Late Night Tales: Midlake
Record Store Day 7 (Live)
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Light In The Attic 10 Year Anniversary: Rodriguez "I'll Slip Away"
Late Night Tales: Midlake (Sampler)
Rodriguez Rocks: Live In Australia
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Levantate