I grew up in Detroit and graduated in 1970. Listened to all the underground radio stations and never heard a song by Rodriguez. It wasn't until I saw Searching for Sugarman that I knew he even existed. I would have gone to see him play around Detroit, bought his albums in the 70s. People say what was wrong with Detroiters that they didn't embrace Rodriguez? Fact was he was never promoted or played.
i used to listen to CJOM in Windsor where i played Jr hockey and WABX in my hometown Detroit. There was a dj named Mark Parentau, who played a bunch of cool underground bands/artists, including Sixto Rodriguez. He interviewed mim once on each station. He oftenn referred to Him, as Detroits Bob Dylan. He is now Doing a Barry Gordie Howeb Town Gig, as a picker and restoror of Vintage D Tone Architechture, including salvaging of old Art deco pieces from Detroits Past. Cheers From SpoCanada.
He was just as huge during my 70's teen years in Western Australia. HUGE! Was lucky enough to see him live, 40 years too late, in kings park Perth wa. The only concert I've ever been to ❤
I literally just heard about this guy a couple of hours ago. I went on to listen to his music and wow... the fact that this guy wasn't more known in his era is insane.
@@howardblasingame7961he sold more records than Elvis in South Africa. If you saw the Doc they tried to “follow the money” and it just got syphoned into the big business at a huge record label. And last I checked, about 5 years ago when I saw the Doc, he was suing them for 25M in back royalties from the sales of his album. And that’s just his royalties from record sales. Imagine how much the whole kaboom was. And the big record company didn’t even notice or know they had a star on their hands!!
Awesome synopsis well done! I am from Johannesburg and was one of the few fortunate fans at his first concert in ‘98. For me & I believe others the energy in the venue was magical, spiritual and truly unforgettable.
He was very popular on the east coast of Australia in the '70s. Also, It was an honour to meet him, when he came to the Byron Blues Festival, a few years back. He came into the Byron Music shop, where I worked, and bought a guitar lead and guitar strap, for the shows. So quiet and humble, like a dark angel had walked in....
He didnt start our revolution in South Africa. His music kept us motivated like all other music. Our plight was like that of Berlin. His music was part of a catalogue that we in South Africa listened to that exposed us to the rest of the world. At the time we thought we were alone and music like this exposed us to the fact that we weren't.
What you got to hide? Seriously, I get what you are saying. Sometimes, late at night, early morning hours, I take solice knowing there is probably no one on the planet thinking about me at the exact moment. Don't know why but it's so satisfying.
Sixto’s story was a beautiful reminder to me to not grow bitter if you don’t get exactly what you want out of life. Before he passed, you could catch him in Detroit record shops and he was delighted to speak to anyone about music for as long as they wanted. This man’s music and story has single handedly changed my life. Safe travels Sugar man ❤️
Very well told and made. I love the whole "I don't like what you do, but I'm confused and alone about all the problems facing society.." spiel. Thats exactly what I got from the mans music. Climb up on my music an my songs will set you free. He inspired me to make my own songs Space Engineer(band) , Memory Trip (YT album) and many songs on Spotify etc.Thanks for making this. I enjoyed it greatly. Saw Rodriguez perform 5 times. The best being Sydney, Enmore Theatre (backed by Midnight Oil) I'm surprised he never wrote another song after making those 2, extraordinary albums.
Back during the troubled dark days of trump’s “American Carnage,” a friend suggested that I watch Finding Sugar Man, and I became obsessed with Rodriguez. His music really spoke to me, his story enthralled me, and most poignant of all, his humility touched me deeply. I feel the need to share him with as many people as possible, to increase his legacy and to pull the ignorant masses into shared purpose and appreciation. Thank you so much for this excellent video, I really loved it.
James, brother. You did not lie in your advance hype for this video. I’m extremely motivated both by Rodrigues’ story AND by your insights into it. Thank you. What is real will prosper
Hi James thank you for the interesting background. Saw him perform in Newcastle Civic Centre in Australia and thought it was the best poetry I had heard. He told us he had completed his degree. An angel 4 sure 🎶💖🌸
I am so very grateful to have seen "Searching for the Sugar Man" - a very moving documentary, which prompted me to fly to Seattle to see Rodriquez live. Brilliant concert in a small venue and one of my favorite highlights in life. Sixto was lovely, gentle, grateful, humble and a very talented man. I pray that the last few years of his life allowed him to see how much he was appreciated and loved. Fortunately, I live near Detroit and visit his neighborhood frequently....which he is honored by a huge mural....long live the spirt of the Sugar Man!
I think the moment he landed here in SA he realized he was bigger than he could ever dream of thinking a crowd of 50 will be there finding each show was sold out full staduims of thousands
Hey. Solid job man. Good job telling the story while keeping it entertaining. I'll be showing your video to others and I look forward to watching more.
To think we grew up on his music while he was not known in his own country 44 years later his music still plays in my house. U missed a diamond while searching for a penny
It's not often that someone comes into your life that makes such a powerful impact. I actually heard and felt his soul through his poetry. Those producers stole more than just the royalties that were rightfully Sixto's. In my opinion the biggest treasure that they stole was his voice. Not just from him but from the rest of the world, shame on them.I just hope that others will discover and enjoy his music just as a lot of us have. He has inspired me to start writing again, I just wish I could personally thank him for what his writing has meant to me. But somehow I get the feeling that he already knows. Rest in Peace my Friend. Thank you for posting this, he deserves all of the praise and recognition he can get.
Very, very, thought provoking and thoughtfully done. Just one small pushback: You overstate a little the effect Sixto had in the struggle against apartheid. Yes. He made a big difference to many young white mostly English South Africans in showing them something other than the puritanical culture forced on them. That was huge, and transformational. It made a difference. But South Africa was full of giants taking on apartheid through music and many other ways. Makeba, Masekela, Fassie, Biko, Sisulu, Tutu, Luthuli, Suzman -- and of course Mandela. But, that takes nothing away from the music, work and legacy of Sixto. I would mention one other man, and one worth comparing with Sixto: Johnny Clegg. If you honor one, you must honor the other.
I am an Afrikaans speaker and cannot claim that I was politically aware during the 70s and early 80s. In fact, I was never a political animal. Not even now that the ANC is doing everything to destroy SA short of putting a match to it. Yet I completely resonated with Sixto and Johnny Clegg, which just shows that they both had an ability to touch people across cultural and political divides.
Thanks, I loved the documentary and love Rodriguez. He's part American Indian I suspect, and Mexican, beautiful combination. He's on the level of Dylan.
Most enjoyable docu video. Missed his show in JHB. Missed all his shows. But i do have both albums. Fact and After. Puts you into a different mood every time you hear it. I too cried when i saw the documentary of his first performance. What an awesome moment for EVERYONE just to be there. He didn't have to sing one word. And that was enough.. A true legend of a man.
I find it outrageous that no one speaks of Sixto Rodriguez in the context of the Chicano movement in the US in exactly the city in which he lives in and the times when the movement began and also how it blends in simultaneously with the American Indian Movement [AIM] inexactly the SAME years at the intersection of the end of the '60's and the very early years of the 1970's.
Im 58 first song i found was halfway up the stairs at 14 every song Sixto has produced i relate too his music is superior i find bob dylan not authentic. Sixto was & always will be the ultimate musician for me R.I.P your gift to us is forever never to bw forgotten ♥️
Sounds like he was someone who saw beyond the short term obsessions we humans tend to have. An outsider within his own society. Personal material gain seems to have meant very little to him. Money was just something you can use to help others.
I remember seen the album back in 1978 I was at high school.At that stage I had never heard any of the songs on cold fact or who Rodriguez was but in South Africa that album became hugely influential.
I had heard of Sixto,:but his music didnt get the big push and Sussex didnt push it hard enough and they were a small label. And Clarence mqy have swindled him too. Never heard of his docu or how he was bigger overseas. Didn't know none of that. Lots of other bands record albums sink into obscurity and never get an Act 2. Sixto got both an Act 2 and 3, where he got to tour overseas. Which is kind of cool.
WTF! I'm no musician but I could imagine any already popular star being envious of this man and how his influence went under the American radar and on to influence an entire generation outside of our sight.
I saw Rodriguez Live in a small Bingo Hall Fortitude Valley Brisbane Australia in the mid 70's. He was not a well known / popular musician at the time and didn't get the recognition he deserved.
Unless you've been living under a rock you've definitely heard about this guy. There was a major movie made about him that played in festivals all over the world. He was touted (erroneously) as being Bob Dylan before Bob Dylan. Thing is anyone afforded that much exposure that then fades back into obscurity in less than a decade is clearly not that important to most serious music fans. Never be sorry to tell the truth
Who else came here after watching Joe Rogan? A lot of music never see the sunlight due to poor promotion and marketing. Sixto's music is deep, soulful, and meaningful, with striking lyrics, excellent timing and rhythm, and clean powerful vocals. I don't believe the reason he didn't get airplay was due to being Hispanic, because how do you explain Carlos Santana or Jose Feliciano? If he had a better producer and good promotor, I have no doubt he would have been a household name. If you listen to Bruce Springsteen's early stuff, it's really had to listen to. But it wasn't until he was paired with Jon Landau to produce and shape his music that helped him to gain acceptance.
Trini Lopez was all over the radio... Carlos Santana! I think you're seeing what expect to see. A lot of very talented musicians don't ever achieve commercial success. And sadly, it too often that kind of success turns into a gilded cage.
"The Most Important Musician You've Never Heard Of" Yeah let's pretend that there wasn't a big ass academy award winning documentary about him over 10 years ago....
Clarence Avant was a crook ! He took advantage of Sixto's greatness for his own reasons ,lied , stole and didn't promote his presence concentrating more on other artists like Dobie Gray .He stated that Rodriguez only sold " six albums!" with a weasely smirk on his con mans face 🤬😡😠💯 Finally Rodriguez got due with the release of "SUGARMAN" RIP MR. SIXTO RODRIGUEZ
Grew up in detroit and Windsor. my mom and dad were well known musicians in Detroit. My mom worked with him for a bit. His legacy in barry Gordie Howe Town as well of course, S. Africa. Cheers from Spocanada
I knew of some of the issues out in South Africa through history but I didnt know what an apartheid was and also that they were in one, I didnt know it was that bad
thats how many were sold after the music was bought by record labels, like I had said, the copies made before would've at least doubled those numbers if not more
I disagree with the narrator's premise that the artist was shunned due to anti-hispanic bias. Carlos Santana and Jose Feliciano were contemporary super stars.
I posed it as a possibility. obviously im biased because I love the artist and his music but in order to comprehend why he couldn't succeed even with all the things he needed (a label, solid promotion, lore, buzz in his hometown) I tried to pose another potential reason but you're right, its not a solid assumption to make
@@jamesdewayne Well put. I have a perspective of living through that period and I totally understand the concept of "Why not, Rodriguez?" It's weird. I know. He is an amazing, unique, haunting, genius. And authentic to the core. Thank you, James for putting his story out there. Well done!
@@user-ge7on8wy1o thank you! I probably should've added that I have family members who lived through that time (of Dominican descent) who gave me that idea as a possibility
@@jamesdewayne Wow! I've never had a content creator respond with such thoughtfulness and introspection! I absolutely will change my perspective on an issue with honest discussion. I've just subscribed! Keep up the great works and positivity!
You are making a lot of assumptions about a time period you weren't alive in. Carlos Santana was a huge rock star in the late sixties. Even Freddy Fender made it to number one on the country charts singing in Spanish. I think Rodriqeuz just fell through the cracks like Nick Drake and Big Star and any number of other good acts that didn't chart.
It is a shame that since he has becomeknown that the country and western versionof wonder has been taken down. If anyone reading this can repost it it would be great jk
I really want to watch, "Searching for Sugar Man." But, The title is strange and "offensive?" in that in his (incredible!) song, "Sugar Man," is not Rodriguez, but his drug dealer and of a nebulous and dubious nature.
He got betrayed by the system and those that wanted to go vs the system. Some Real tragedy for society a real poet and Artist - so glad he was appreciate it in South Africa
So none of you ever hear of the Oscar winning documentary Searching for Sugarman? Also he didnt "start" a revolution in South Africa, he merely helped keep the anti apartheid movement inspired through his music, which the government had banned. Its not as if Joe Rogan or you found this info out by yourselves.
I talk about the documentary throughout the entire video, it was the basis of the video and how I found Rodriguez in the first place. and yes I clarify the revolution part in the video, the intro is just meant to be attention grabbing lol
I grew up in Detroit and graduated in 1970. Listened to all the underground radio stations and never heard a song by Rodriguez. It wasn't until I saw Searching for Sugarman that I knew he even existed. I would have gone to see him play around Detroit, bought his albums in the 70s. People say what was wrong with Detroiters that they didn't embrace Rodriguez? Fact was he was never promoted or played.
You missed a gem
@@robertgreeffgreeff8212 The world missed out.
Find that documentary and enjoy it! Searching for Sugarman.
i used to listen to CJOM in Windsor where i played Jr hockey and WABX in my hometown Detroit. There was a dj named Mark Parentau, who played a bunch of cool underground bands/artists, including Sixto Rodriguez. He interviewed mim once on each station. He oftenn referred to Him, as Detroits Bob Dylan. He is now Doing a Barry Gordie Howeb Town Gig, as a picker and restoror of Vintage D Tone Architechture, including salvaging of old Art deco pieces from Detroits Past. Cheers From SpoCanada.
Listening to him in Australia
He was just as huge during my 70's teen years in Western Australia. HUGE!
Was lucky enough to see him live, 40 years too late, in kings park Perth wa.
The only concert I've ever been to ❤
@@foilsaintfoils6071 How I wish must have been awesome
I literally just heard about this guy a couple of hours ago. I went on to listen to his music and wow... the fact that this guy wasn't more known in his era is insane.
The music biz, was and ezz, about the Benjamin. Sixto did not dance to their tune.
@@howardblasingame7961he sold more records than Elvis in South Africa.
If you saw the Doc they tried to “follow the money” and it just got syphoned into the big business at a huge record label.
And last I checked, about 5 years ago when I saw the Doc, he was suing them for 25M in back royalties from the sales of his album. And that’s just his royalties from record sales. Imagine how much the whole kaboom was. And the big record company didn’t even notice or know they had a star on their hands!!
Awesome synopsis well done! I am from Johannesburg and was one of the few fortunate fans at his first concert in ‘98. For me & I believe others the energy in the venue was magical, spiritual and truly unforgettable.
no way thats insane !! I can't even imagine what that was like. and thank u so much I hope I did it justice
He was very popular on the east coast of Australia in the '70s.
Also, It was an honour to meet him, when he came to the Byron Blues Festival, a few years back. He came into the Byron Music shop, where I worked, and bought a guitar lead and guitar strap, for the shows. So quiet and humble, like a dark angel had walked in....
He didnt start our revolution in South Africa. His music kept us motivated like all other music. Our plight was like that of Berlin. His music was part of a catalogue that we in South Africa listened to that exposed us to the rest of the world. At the time we thought we were alone and music like this exposed us to the fact that we weren't.
eddie grant, pink floyd, etc etc good times
Thank you for highlighting this lost artist. His music still rings true today. ❤
Rest in peace, Sixto Rodriguez.
🙏😪 can’t believe this
Thank you 😊
Greetings from Cape Town South Africa 🇿🇦 ❤
Rip rodriguez.. i am a big fan for years now.. rodriguez is a great singer..
I got no problem being forgotten. As a matter of fact, It'd be kinda nice.
What you got to hide?
Seriously, I get what you are saying.
Sometimes, late at night, early morning hours, I take solice knowing there is probably no one on the planet thinking about me at the exact moment.
Don't know why but it's so satisfying.
Sixto’s story was a beautiful reminder to me to not grow bitter if you don’t get exactly what you want out of life. Before he passed, you could catch him in Detroit record shops and he was delighted to speak to anyone about music for as long as they wanted. This man’s music and story has single handedly changed my life. Safe travels Sugar man ❤️
Very well told and made. I love the whole "I don't like what you do, but I'm confused and alone about all the problems facing society.." spiel. Thats exactly what I got from the mans music. Climb up on my music an my songs will set you free. He inspired me to make my own songs Space Engineer(band) , Memory Trip (YT album) and many songs on Spotify etc.Thanks for making this. I enjoyed it greatly. Saw Rodriguez perform 5 times. The best being Sydney, Enmore Theatre (backed by Midnight Oil) I'm surprised he never wrote another song after making those 2, extraordinary albums.
“What is real will prosper” you knocked this out the park - just learned about Sixto - may he RIP
Well done my friend. Excellent research. Thank you for sharing a hidden gem.
Well done James! Highly recommend this insane story of Sixto Rodriguez 🔥🔥🔥
Thank you for telling and sharing the story of a very special artist.
Back during the troubled dark days of trump’s “American Carnage,” a friend suggested that I watch Finding Sugar Man, and I became obsessed with Rodriguez. His music really spoke to me, his story enthralled me, and most poignant of all, his humility touched me deeply. I feel the need to share him with as many people as possible, to increase his legacy and to pull the ignorant masses into shared purpose and appreciation. Thank you so much for this excellent video, I really loved it.
beautifully said 🙌 I couldn't agree more
Never is late to recognize a great Artist
I grew up in South Africa so he was more famous to us than Elvis. Beautiful soul with beautiful music
elvis sang watered down black music for white people.
James, brother. You did not lie in your advance hype for this video. I’m extremely motivated both by Rodrigues’ story AND by your insights into it. Thank you. What is real will prosper
Nice documentary & a credit to Sixto.
I have numerous Sixto songs in my playlist.
Thanks for make this video!!! Hugs from Madrid, Spain!!!! Gracias!!!
Hi James thank you for the interesting background. Saw him perform in Newcastle Civic Centre in Australia and thought it was the best poetry I had heard. He told us he had completed his degree. An angel 4 sure 🎶💖🌸
I am so very grateful to have seen "Searching for the Sugar Man" - a very moving documentary, which prompted me to fly to Seattle to see Rodriquez live. Brilliant concert in a small venue and one of my favorite highlights in life. Sixto was lovely, gentle, grateful, humble and a very talented man. I pray that the last few years of his life allowed him to see how much he was appreciated and loved. Fortunately, I live near Detroit and visit his neighborhood frequently....which he is honored by a huge mural....long live the spirt of the Sugar Man!
I think the moment he landed here in SA he realized he was bigger than he could ever dream of thinking a crowd of 50 will be there finding each show was sold out full staduims of thousands
Hey. Solid job man. Good job telling the story while keeping it entertaining. I'll be showing your video to others and I look forward to watching more.
thank you so much that means the world !
Very sad news for the world today
RIP Mr Rodriguez
I've loved Sixto Rodriguez for 40 years. Thank you for video. ❤
To think we grew up on his music while he was not known in his own country 44 years later his music still plays in my house. U missed a diamond while searching for a penny
im so mad he didnt blow up in the US, we really did miss an absolute gem 😭
It's not often that someone comes into your life that makes such a powerful impact. I actually heard and felt his soul through his poetry. Those producers stole more than just the royalties that were rightfully Sixto's. In my opinion the biggest treasure that they stole was his voice. Not just from him but from the rest of the world, shame on them.I just hope that others will discover and enjoy his music just as a lot of us have. He has inspired me to start writing again, I just wish I could personally thank him for what his writing has meant to me. But somehow I get the feeling that he already knows. Rest in Peace my Friend. Thank you for posting this, he deserves all of the praise and recognition he can get.
I came by this music by someone as real and extraordinary as Sixto.
Very, very, thought provoking and thoughtfully done. Just one small pushback: You overstate a little the effect Sixto had in the struggle against apartheid. Yes. He made a big difference to many young white mostly English South Africans in showing them something other than the puritanical culture forced on them. That was huge, and transformational. It made a difference. But South Africa was full of giants taking on apartheid through music and many other ways. Makeba, Masekela, Fassie, Biko, Sisulu, Tutu, Luthuli, Suzman -- and of course Mandela. But, that takes nothing away from the music, work and legacy of Sixto. I would mention one other man, and one worth comparing with Sixto: Johnny Clegg. If you honor one, you must honor the other.
I am an Afrikaans speaker and cannot claim that I was politically aware during the 70s and early 80s. In fact, I was never a political animal. Not even now that the ANC is doing everything to destroy SA short of putting a match to it.
Yet I completely resonated with Sixto and Johnny Clegg, which just shows that they both had an ability to touch people across cultural and political divides.
Very good narrations, Rodriquez has a new fan!
Beautiful story about a beautiful man as an American Indian he’s my Hero,Thanks for the Memories
Beautiful video man, Rodriguez is a true LEGEND.
Great job!!
Thanks man I will not forget your video!
Thanks, I loved the documentary and love Rodriguez. He's part American Indian I suspect, and Mexican, beautiful combination. He's on the level of Dylan.
Great video, thanks for sharing
thank U!
Two albums that should be in everyone's collection.
Most enjoyable docu video.
Missed his show in JHB. Missed all his shows. But i do have both albums. Fact and After. Puts you into a different mood every time you hear it. I too cried when i saw the documentary of his first performance. What an awesome moment for EVERYONE just to be there. He didn't have to sing one word. And that was enough.. A true legend of a man.
🙏🙏🙏
Fantastic video man well done all around keep it up!
appreciate that :)
rodriguez gave me a greater appreciation for folk music.
same! he got me into it in general, now its one of my fav genres
Nice, I checked it out
thank u !!
amazing video about an amazing story
Thank you for the story zSir.🎉
He was very popular in Australia in the late seventies.
I went to one of his sellout concerts in Melbourne.
His first album made #23 on the Aussie charts. He was a big deal here.
I find it outrageous that no one speaks of Sixto Rodriguez in the context of the Chicano movement in the US in exactly the city in which he lives in and the times when the movement began and also how it blends in simultaneously with the American Indian Movement [AIM] inexactly the SAME years at the intersection of the end of the '60's and the very early years of the 1970's.
Super great documentary.Thanks
I remember when a Swedish director made a movie about him called sugar man around 15, 16 don't remember. Of course and I listen to this legend
Real Great video essay 👍🏻
About one of my favorite artist ❤
Thanks for the effort behind the video 🙏🏻❤️
I appreciate that! he's been one my favorites since high school too
Im 58 first song i found was halfway up the stairs at 14 every song Sixto has produced i relate too his music is superior i find bob dylan not authentic.
Sixto was & always will be the ultimate musician for me R.I.P your gift to us is forever never to bw forgotten ♥️
I got three of his albums on vinyl from the 70's
im so jealous !
Sounds like he was someone who saw beyond the short term obsessions we humans tend to have. An outsider within his own society. Personal material gain seems to have meant very little to him. Money was just something you can use to help others.
Thank you for this video 🌞 this guy is amazing ,love it ❤️
🙌
I remember seen the album back in 1978 I was at high school.At that stage I had never heard any of the songs on cold fact or who Rodriguez was but in South Africa that album became hugely influential.
Watch the documentary Searching for Sugar Man. I have been a fan for decades - amazing musician, and lyrist and human being.
Thank you for this.
I had heard of Sixto,:but his music didnt get the big push and Sussex didnt push it hard enough and they were a small label. And Clarence mqy have swindled him too. Never heard of his docu or how he was bigger overseas. Didn't know none of that. Lots of other bands record albums sink into obscurity and never get an Act 2. Sixto got both an Act 2 and 3, where he got to tour overseas. Which is kind of cool.
WTF! I'm no musician but I could imagine any already popular star being envious of this man and how his influence went under the American radar and on to influence an entire generation outside of our sight.
? & The Mysterians was another great Spanish band from the Detroit during that time. I wonder if he was related to the organ player?
Well done....
thank you
BANGER
I saw Rodriguez Live in a small Bingo Hall Fortitude Valley Brisbane Australia in the mid 70's. He was not a well known / popular musician at the time and didn't get the recognition he deserved.
Incredible story about a true artist.
I bought this record, it's great, kc
Unless you've been living under a rock you've definitely heard about this guy. There was a major movie made about him that played in festivals all over the world. He was touted (erroneously) as being Bob Dylan before Bob Dylan. Thing is anyone afforded that much exposure that then fades back into obscurity in less than a decade is clearly not that important to most serious music fans. Never be sorry to tell the truth
Record labels screwed him
over so bad
Beautiful story.
Who else came here after watching Joe Rogan? A lot of music never see the sunlight due to poor promotion and marketing. Sixto's music is deep, soulful, and meaningful, with striking lyrics, excellent timing and rhythm, and clean powerful vocals. I don't believe the reason he didn't get airplay was due to being Hispanic, because how do you explain Carlos Santana or Jose Feliciano? If he had a better producer and good promotor, I have no doubt he would have been a household name. If you listen to Bruce Springsteen's early stuff, it's really had to listen to. But it wasn't until he was paired with Jon Landau to produce and shape his music that helped him to gain acceptance.
No, I came by the music in my own life My extraordinary life.
Sounds like he wouldn't play ball with team dark
Trini Lopez was all over the radio... Carlos Santana! I think you're seeing what expect to see. A lot of very talented musicians don't ever achieve commercial success. And sadly, it too often that kind of success turns into a gilded cage.
TY
It’s amazing but the problem is that no radio play killed it!
"The Most Important Musician You've Never Heard Of"
Yeah let's pretend that there wasn't a big ass academy award winning documentary about him over 10 years ago....
🤓👆
Clarence Avant was a crook ! He took advantage of Sixto's greatness for his own reasons ,lied , stole and didn't promote his presence concentrating more on other artists like Dobie Gray .He stated that Rodriguez only sold " six albums!" with a weasely smirk on his con mans face 🤬😡😠💯 Finally Rodriguez got due with the release of "SUGARMAN" RIP MR. SIXTO RODRIGUEZ
Is that what happened?
It was not only in SA this story reverberated in NZ as well I grew up with Rod riguez . part of the fabric
Grew up in detroit and Windsor. my mom and dad were well known musicians in Detroit. My mom worked with him for a bit. His legacy in barry Gordie Howe Town as well of course, S. Africa. Cheers from Spocanada
Wait…..you’ve seriously never heard of the apartheid?!?
I knew of some of the issues out in South Africa through history but I didnt know what an apartheid was and also that they were in one, I didnt know it was that bad
Detroit's version of Bob Dylan.
omg that was good
500 000 copies? no way...at least a few million. I had a copy too. Every household had a copy. If you could hear, you had his record.
thats how many were sold after the music was bought by record labels, like I had said, the copies made before would've at least doubled those numbers if not more
Bro amazing job like and sub . 👍
thank u!!
“searching for sugar man” documentary
I get more Dillon vibes from most of his music
I disagree with the narrator's premise that the artist was shunned due to anti-hispanic bias. Carlos Santana and Jose Feliciano were contemporary super stars.
I posed it as a possibility. obviously im biased because I love the artist and his music but in order to comprehend why he couldn't succeed even with all the things he needed (a label, solid promotion, lore, buzz in his hometown) I tried to pose another potential reason
but you're right, its not a solid assumption to make
@@jamesdewayne Well put. I have a perspective of living through that period and I totally understand the concept of "Why not, Rodriguez?" It's weird. I know. He is an amazing, unique, haunting, genius. And authentic to the core. Thank you, James for putting his story out there. Well done!
@@user-ge7on8wy1o thank you! I probably should've added that I have family members who lived through that time (of Dominican descent) who gave me that idea as a possibility
@@jamesdewayne Wow! I've never had a content creator respond with such thoughtfulness and introspection! I absolutely will change my perspective on an issue with honest discussion. I've just subscribed! Keep up the great works and positivity!
@@user-ge7on8wy1o thats what its all about! I love talking to anyone who will listen lol. I appreciate that a lot 🙌
You might not have to say from the beatles when saying ringo starr. I hope not anyway...
You are making a lot of assumptions about a time period you weren't alive in. Carlos Santana was a huge rock star in the late sixties. Even Freddy Fender made it to number one on the country charts singing in Spanish. I think Rodriqeuz just fell through the cracks like Nick Drake and Big Star and any number of other good acts that didn't chart.
well i had a lot of help from my grandparents who lived in this time period 🤷♂
NZ. The man was so popular, just got sick of the state of the industry I guess.
It is a shame that since he has becomeknown that the country and western versionof wonder has been taken down. If anyone reading this can repost it it would be great jk
there's a country version ????
What about Santana? It wasn't the latin vacuum you claim.
very true but not a lot outside of Santana tho
I wonder
I really want to watch, "Searching for Sugar Man." But, The title is strange and "offensive?" in that in his (incredible!) song, "Sugar Man," is not Rodriguez, but his drug dealer and of a nebulous and dubious nature.
yeah I agree because no one referred to him as sugar man in south africa to my knowledge ? I guess its just a more interesting title 🤷♂
Searching for sugarman cooked the narrative. Rodriguez toured after the albums He wasn’t successful the returned to a normal life well normal for him.
He got betrayed by the system and those that wanted to go vs the system. Some Real tragedy for society a real poet and Artist - so glad he was appreciate it in South Africa
He totally should have gone by Sixto. Calling yourself Rodriguez is indistinct, and laughably oblivious to America's insipient racism.
In 1970 most of this just sounds like someone who can't fully commit to their Bob Dylan impersonation.... just sayin.
You checked out South Africa lately? Not such a paradise these days.
...you never heard of "Apartheid"?
not the term itself no, I didnt pay attention in school lol
So none of you ever hear of the Oscar winning documentary Searching for Sugarman? Also he didnt "start" a revolution in South Africa, he merely helped keep the anti apartheid movement inspired through his music, which the government had banned.
Its not as if Joe Rogan or you found this info out by yourselves.
I talk about the documentary throughout the entire video, it was the basis of the video and how I found Rodriguez in the first place. and yes I clarify the revolution part in the video, the intro is just meant to be attention grabbing lol