Legendary Detroit Singer-Songwriter Sixto Rodriguez Has Died

Legendary Detroit singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez has died. His death on August 8 was confirmed by the website Sugarman.org. He was 81 years old.

Born Sixto Diaz Rodriguez in Detroit on July 10, 1942, Rodriguez, as he was professionally known, began his career in the Motor City in 1967.

“I like to tell people that I was born on Michigan Avenue,” Rodriguez said. “Five blocks from the center of Detroit.”

The singer-songwriter recorded two albums — Cold Fact and Coming From Reality — on small labels in the early 1970s, which found little success in his native country.

Rodriguez’s records, however, did find success overseas in places like Southern Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It’s said he sold more records in South Africa than Elvis Presley, although his success there was unbeknownst to him until 1997. In 2009, Light In The Attic records reissued Cold Fact and Coming From Reality.

In 2012, the documentary Searching For Sugar Man told the story of Rodriguez’s unorthodox musical journey. The documentary won a number of awards including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2013. The doc also rekindled interest in Rodriguez’s music.

Rodriguez survived a stroke earlier this year and underwent surgery in March to address the damage caused by the stroke.