Unbeknownst to him for decades, his music was extremely successful and influential in South Africa, where he is believed to have sold more records than Elvis Presley, as well as in other countries in southern Africa.
Musician Sixto Rodriguez, who passed away on August 8, 2023, has been engraved in our minds with his impressive life story and music.
Detroit-born American musician and songwriter Sixto Rodriguez has died at the age of 81. During his long and impressive career, Rodriguez gained a huge following around the world and became immortal with his music.
Sixto Rodriguez was an American musician and songwriter known for his unique style and expressive lyrics in his music. Rodriguez started his music career in 1967 but did not achieve the success he expected in the USA and was abandoned by the record label. But his music has gained a huge fan base outside of America, especially in South Africa and Australia, and his albums have reached significant sales figures in these countries.
Jesus Sixto Diaz-Rodriguez (July 10, 1942 – August 8, 2023), better known as Rodriguez or Sixth Prince, was an American musician from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in South Africa, Australia (touring the country twice in his earlier career), and New Zealand. Unbeknownst to him for decades, his music was extremely successful and influential in South Africa, where he is believed to have sold more records than Elvis Presley, as well as other countries in southern Africa. Information about him was scarce, and it was incorrectly rumored there that he had died by suicide shortly after releasing his second album.
Unaware of how popular he was in South Africa for years, Rodriguez was falsely rumored to have committed suicide on stage in the 1970s. In reality, however, Rodriguez was still living in Detroit and making a living by working in the construction industry. He learned of his popularity in South Africa in 1997 when his daughter Eva found a website dedicated to him.
Rodriguez, whose music career was revived thanks to the website Eva found, went on his first South African tour in the late 1990s. He gave unforgettable concerts to thousands of fans in the country's largest arenas and performed many successful shows in Australia. Filmed in 2012, the Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man was about two South African fans tracking down Rodriguez and finding him. With the release of this documentary, Rodriguez began to experience the second spring of his career and the musician began touring around the world again, recording new music.
When the official statement about Sixto Rodriguez's death was made, no details were given about the cause of death. Rodriguez, who was hospitalized last year for a heart condition, died at home as he wished, according to his daughter, Regan. In a statement on the Sugarman.org website, "We at Sugarman.org are sad to announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez passed away today. Our deepest condolences to their daughters Sandra, Eva, and Regan and their entire family. Rodriguez was 81 years old. May his beloved soul rest in peace.
Sixto Rodriguez's unique music and impressive life story will always live on in the music world and the hearts of his fans.
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