Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man singer, dies aged 81

Singer-songwriter’s unlikely career was the subject of Oscar-winning documentary

Rodriguez, the singer-songwriter whose unlikely career was featured in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, has died aged 81.

The musician’s death was announced on his official website on Tuesday (8 August).

“It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today,” the official statement read.

“We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his daughters – Sandra, Eva and Regan – and to all his family. Rodriguez was 81 years old. May His Dear Soul Rest In Peace.”

The singer was born Sixto Diaz Rodriguez in Detroit, Michigan, in 1942. His music career initially found little success in the United States, with his first two albums, released in the 1970s, struggling to make many sales.

Following his flop in the US music scene, he returned to his birth city and “went back to work” doing manual labour on construction sites.

“I felt I was ready for the world, but the world wasn’t ready for me,” Rodriguez previously told The Associated Press. “I feel we all have a mission – we have obligations. Those turns on the journey, different twists – life is not linear.”

Rodriguez (AP)

However, unbeknownst to him, he gained considerable fandom in countries including New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. In the latter, his fame is believed to have been equivalent to that of Elvis Presley or the Rolling Stones, according to The Washington Post.

Rodriguez came to discover his extreme popularity, particularly in South Africa, decades later after rumours began circulating online that he had died by suicide.

He often sang about racial inequality, abuse of women and social norms, which became welcomed anthems to white liberals who were left horrified by their country’s racially discriminatory system of apartheid.

Rodriguez’s eventual revival later became the subject of 2012 documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, which debuted at the next year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Sony Pictures Classic quickly snatched the project up, and it went on to win the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film’s success put Rodriguez’s music on the US charts for the first time.

“It’s been a great odyssey,” Rodriguez said in a 2008 interview with the Detroit News. “All those years, you know, I always considered myself a musician. But, reality happened.”