American musician Sixto Rodriguez never realized he had become famous. He spent forty years making music but had only two failed albums-Cold Fact and Coming from Reality-to show for it.
At least Rodriguez thought those albums had failed, but in reality they gained new life and new fans an ocean away. While his work never caught on in America, music lovers in the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia kept his legacy alive through the decades. As chronicled in the 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, fans eventually tracked down the elusive artist and showed him the impact he had on so many.
But this wasn't the whole story, as industry insider and author Howard A. DeWitt explains in this new biography of the controversial figure. DeWitt details the most important aspects of Rodriguez's life that the documentary failed to consider, including successful Australian tours in 1979 and 1981 and Rodriguez's tireless advocacy for the rights of immigrants, blue-collar workers, and impoverished people.
As DeWitt fills in these gaps, he shows the true power of Rodriguez's Cinderella story and the machinations of the many people in the music and film industries who wanted total control of the
About the Author:
Howard A. DeWitt is a former music manager, best-selling author, and professor emeritus at Ohlone College. He has written twenty-seven books on a variety of topics and more than two hundred articles about rock and roll and the music business.
DeWitt's work includes two novels, an Elvis Presley biography, and the Amazon bestseller Sicily's Secrets: The Mafia, Pizza, and Hating Rome. He also managed the career of blues musician Jimmy McCracklin for thirty years. DeWitt's latest work is a sequel to Searching for Sugar Man: Sixto Rodriguez' Mythical Climb to Rock N Roll Fame and Fortune. It challenges the opinions expressed in the documentary Searching for Sugar Man and tells the truth about musician Sixto Rodriguez and his legacy.
