‘Searching for Sugar Man’ Subject Rodriguez Dies at 81

Singer-songwriter Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, the subject of the Oscar-winning 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, has died. The musician, known professionally as Rodriguez, died Tuesday, Aug. 9 at the age of 81, according to an announcement posted to his official website. His wife said Rodriguez died following a short illness, per the Associated Press, with his website noting that the musician had been in poor health and suffered a stroke in February.

“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.”

Born in Detroit in 1942 as the sixth son of Mexican immigrant parents, Rodriguez began his music career playing in the Motor City clubs while also working on a Chrysler assembly line. Rodriguez eventually attracted the attention of producers Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey, who produced Rodriguez’s 1970 debut album Cold Fact for the independent Los Angeles label Sussex Records. His sophomore album, Coming From Reality, was recorded in London and released the following year. Both albums flopped in the U.S. and were considered commercial failures, and Rodriguez was dropped from his label shortly afterward, according to Variety.
 
However, unbeknownst to the singer, who “went back to work” as a laborer, his music gained popularity elsewhere in the world, including in Australia, Botswana, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Airplay for “Cold Fact” in Sydney, Australia made him a cult star, and Rodriguez headlined a 1979 tour of the continent, and in South Africa, a re-released compilation album, At His Best, went platinum. Rodriguez did not become aware of his fame overseas until 1997, when his daughter found information online, per The Guardian. Rodriguez went on to tour South Africa.
 
Rodriguez’s life and career became the center of Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary Searching for Sugar Man, which two South Africans’ mission to learn the fate of Rodriguez amid rumors of his death. The documentary won the World Cinema Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award, World Cinema Documentary, at the festival and went on to win the BAFTA Award and Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Rodriguez did not attend the ceremony.
 
Rodriguez continued to play music throughout his life, and his signature song, “Sugar Man” was sampled in Nas’ 2001 song “You’re Da Man.” Following Searching for Sugar Man‘s success, both of Rodriguez’s albums, which were reissued by indie Light in the Attic in 2008, entered the U.S. album chart. Rodriguez is survived by his daughters, Eva, Sandra and Regan.