‘Sugarman’ Sixto Rodriguez dies aged 81: Statement

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American musician Sixto Rodriguez has died at the age of 81, according to a statement posted on his official website on Wednesday.

“It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today,” the message read.

Underneath a quote, the statement listed Rodriguez’s death date as August 8.

The singer-songwriter’s story was told in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man”.

An obscure folksinger called Rodriguez, writing and singing about the hard streets of Detroit in 1970, he was considered by many in the music profession to be a talent on the order of Bob Dylan. His lyrics, set to a heart-stirring rasp of a voice, told about the homeless and the working poor.

Songs titled ‘Street Boy’, ‘Inner City Blues’ and ‘Cause’ told the tale of society in decline and the cold comfort of the drug dealer around the corner, ‘Sugar Man’.

His two albums of the 1970s, ‘Cold Fact’ and ‘Coming from Reality, had no commercial success in the United States. But unbeknownst to him they won huge airplay and a cult following in South Africa, where some tracks became anti-apartheid anthems, and in Australia, although he never saw the royalties.

A myth arose around Rodriguez – it was believed he’d committed suicide on stage, a rumour that hardened into fact.

But Rodriguez was not dead. He was a construction worker in Detroit living in poverty and having abandoned music completely.

‘Searching for Sugar Man’ swept major awards from US directors, producers and writers guilds and won audience and special jury awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

It helped make Rodriguez better known in the United States and led to a revival of his musical career.