34 Facts About Sixto Rodriguez

In May 2013, Sixto Rodriguez received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from his alma mater, Wayne State University, in Detroit.

Sixto Rodriguez lived in Detroit's historic Woodbridge neighborhood, through which he is seen walking in Searching for Sugar Man.

Sixto Rodriguez lived a simple life, possessing no telephone, and occasionally visited bars in the Cass Corridor section of Detroit near Woodbridge and Midtown, such as the Old Miami pub, where he performed live concerts for small local crowds.

Sixto Diaz Rodriguez was born on July 10,1942, in Detroit, Michigan.

Sixto Rodriguez was the sixth child of Mexican immigrant working-class parents Ramon and Maria Rodriguez.

Sixto Rodriguez's mother died when he was three years old.

In most of his songs, Sixto Rodriguez takes a political stance on the difficulties that faced the inner-city poor.

Sixto Rodriguez did not record again for three years, until he signed with Sussex Records, then an offshoot of Buddah Records.

Sixto Rodriguez used his preferred professional name, "Rodriguez", after that.

Sixto Rodriguez recorded two albums with Sussex, Cold Fact in 1970 and Coming from Reality in November 1971.

Sixto Rodriguez quit his music career and in 1976 he purchased a derelict Detroit house in a government auction for $50 in which he still lived as of 2013.

Sixto Rodriguez worked in demolition and production line work, always earning a low income.

Sixto Rodriguez remained politically active and motivated to improve the lives of the city's working-class inhabitants and had run unsuccessfully several times for public office: for the Detroit City Council in 1989, for Mayor of Detroit in 1981 and 1993 and for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2000.

In 2013, it was announced that Sixto Rodriguez was in discussions with Steve Rowland, the producer of his Coming From Reality album.

Sixto Rodriguez was compared to contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens.

Sixto Rodriguez was successful in Australia and performed two concert tours across the country in 1979 and 1981 after Australian concert promoters had tracked him down in Detroit.

Sixto Rodriguez performed in Sweden before returning to South Africa in 2001 and 2005.

Sixto Rodriguez continued to tour in various countries until his final show in 2021.

Sixto Rodriguez declined to attend the award ceremony as he did not want to overshadow the filmmakers' achievement.

Sixto Rodriguez appeared as a musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman on August 14,2012, performing "Crucify Your Mind", and performed "Can't Get Away" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on January 11,2013.

Prominent news coverage included a mid-August 2012 CNN feature story with an interview of Sixto Rodriguez discussing his life and career resurgence.

On October 7,2012, Sixto Rodriguez was featured on the US television news program 60 Minutes.

On November 18,2012, Sixto Rodriguez was interviewed on the UK Sunday morning news program The Andrew Marr Show, where he played a short song over the closing credits.

Sixto Rodriguez played on the Park Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, UK, in June 2013.

On July 5,2013, Sixto Rodriguez opened the Montreux Jazz festival.

Sixto Rodriguez received additional exposure in 2014 as the Dave Matthews Band often covered "Sugar Man" in their summer tour.

Matthews would often preface the song with his experience as a fan of Sixto Rodriguez growing up in South Africa and his surprise at Sixto Rodriguez's lack of popularity in the United States.

The film Searching for Sugar Man strongly implied that Sixto Rodriguez had been cheated out of royalties over the years, specifically by Clarence Avant.

Sixto Rodriguez first expressed indifference to these "symbols of success" but then filed a lawsuit in 2013.

Sixto Rodriguez headlined a tour in August 2018, ending with a hometown show at Detroit's Garden Theater.

In March 2013, Rolling Stone wrote that Sixto Rodriguez was suffering from glaucoma and was going blind.

In February 2023, Sixto Rodriguez suffered a stroke, then had surgery in March to repair stroke damage, followed by post-operative physical therapy.

Sixto Rodriguez died on August 8,2023, at the age of 81.

Sixto Rodriguez was first married to Rayma Rawa and, since 1984, to Constance "Konny" Rodriguez nee Koskos, and with them he had three daughters, Eva, Sandra and Regan.