Sixto Rodriguez, the singer-songwriter who was rediscovered with the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, has died at the age of 81.
The news was announced this morning on Rodriguez's official website. The message offered condolences to the musician's daughters — Sandra, Eva and Regan — and family. He died yesterday (August 8); no further details were given.
Hailing from Detroit, Rodriguez released two folk albums in the early '70s, 1970's Cold Fact and 1971's Coming from Reality. The albums weren't commercially successful, and he subsequently stepped away from music.
His music later became popular in Australia (where he toured in the late '70s and early '80s) and South Africa. He didn't learn of his popularity in the latter country until years later, and the surprising success story was chronicled in the Malik Bendjelloul documentary Searching for Sugar Man. That film won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, leading to Rodriguez finally achieving success in North America.
He toured and released compilation albums in recent years, but he never released another studio album.
The news was announced this morning on Rodriguez's official website. The message offered condolences to the musician's daughters — Sandra, Eva and Regan — and family. He died yesterday (August 8); no further details were given.
Hailing from Detroit, Rodriguez released two folk albums in the early '70s, 1970's Cold Fact and 1971's Coming from Reality. The albums weren't commercially successful, and he subsequently stepped away from music.
His music later became popular in Australia (where he toured in the late '70s and early '80s) and South Africa. He didn't learn of his popularity in the latter country until years later, and the surprising success story was chronicled in the Malik Bendjelloul documentary Searching for Sugar Man. That film won the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, leading to Rodriguez finally achieving success in North America.
He toured and released compilation albums in recent years, but he never released another studio album.
