Sixto Rodriguez was an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan.
He was born on July 10, 1942, and was the sixth child of Mexican immigrant working-class parents; he was named Sixto because he was their sixth son.
Rodriguez’s father had emigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 1920s, and his mother was Native American.
They had joined a large influx of Mexicans who came to the Midwest to work in Detroit’s factories.
Rodriguez’s music was a blend of folk, rock, jazz, soul, and blues, and his lyrics often dealt with themes of protest and social justice.
Despite releasing two albums in the early 1970s, Rodriguez’s career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States.
However, his debut album, Cold Fact, became a platinum-selling hit in South Africa, where he was completely unaware of his fame.
A sell-out concert tour of South Africa was hastily arranged, and Rodriguez suddenly tasted success.
The documentary “Searching for Sugarman” tells the story of two South African fans who set out to discover what happened to Rodriguez, who they believed had died.
The documentary helped to revive Rodriguez’s career, and he began touring again in the late 1990s.
Rodriguez’s music has been described as “genre-defying”, and his lyrics often dealt with themes of protest and social justice.
He was known for his urban poetry and songs filled with lyrics about bigotry and corrupt cops.
Despite his success in South Africa, Rodriguez remained humble and continued to live in Michigan.
He spread the income from his recent tours around his family or gave it to charity. Rodriguez died on August 8, 2023, at the age of 81.
Sixto Rodriguez net worth
The American folk musician had an estimated net worth of $5 million.
Rodriguez’s career experienced a resurgence in the 2010s after the release of the documentary film “Searching for Sugar Man”, which detailed his life and career, and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2013.
The film led to a renewed interest in Rodriguez’s music, and he subsequently toured extensively and released new albums.
Sixto Rodriguez career
Rodriguez had struggled to sell many copies of his first two albums in the US in the 1970s and so quit to take on manual work.
However, his music gained popularity elsewhere in places such as Botswana, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
His cult popularity in Australia led to a 1979 tour of the continent while in South Africa, a compilation album went platinum as a rumour started that he had killed himself.
It wasn’t until 1997 that Rodriguez discovered his fame in South Africa after his daughter found information online.
He then went on tour in the country.
Further fame followed when his song Sugar Man was covered by Paolo Nutini and South African band Just Jinger. The original song was also sampled by Nas.
His life became the subject of the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which premiered at the Sundance film festival to acclaim.
It won the Oscar for best documentary in the following year.
Directed by Swedish film-maker Malik Bendjelloul, it charts his life and the search for him. After its success, Rodriguez’s albums entered the US charts for the first time.
“It’s been a great odyssey. All those years, you know, I always considered myself a musician. But, reality happened,” Rodriguez said in a 2008 interview with the Detroit News.