“How do you feel about knowing that you weren’t aware of something that could’ve changed your life?”
This was the question posed to the folk musician Sixto Rodriguez in the fascinating documentary “Searching for Sugar Man.” Worded a certain way, it’s a question usually directed at the guy who skipped out on his big chance or blew it altogether. For Rodriguez, he never even knew.
Rodriguez was a folk rocker based in Detroit in the late ‘60s with a poet’s spirit and Bob Dylan’s voice, but the people who saw him perform thought of him as a homeless drifter. He performed with his back to the audience in smoky bars down sketchy pockets of Detroit, and yet he got discovered and recorded “Cold Fact” and “Coming from Reality” in 1970 and 1971.
Maybe it was his Latin name or maybe it was overproduction in the backing tracks, but Rodriguez got a raw deal. One successful Motown producer who worked with all the greats said he was one of the most memorable artists he worked with, but the album probably sold six copies. Continue reading “Searching for Sugar Man”