'Sugar Man' singer Rodriguez dies at 81
His death in Detroit, Michigan in the United States was confirmed on Wednesday by his granddaughter, Amanda Kennedy.


Sixto Rodriguez, the obscure singer and songwriter who became the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugarman, has died at the age of 81.
“It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away,” a statement posted on his website on Tuesday said, without providing a cause of death.
His death in Detroit, Michigan in the United States was confirmed on Wednesday by his granddaughter, Amanda Kennedy.
Rodriguez’s albums flopped in the US in the 1970s, but – unknown to him – he later became a star in South Africa, where his songs protesting the Vietnam War, social mores, the abuse of women and racial inequality became hits.
Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary Searching for Sugar Man presented Rodriguez to a much larger audience. The film tells of two South Africans’ mission to seek out the fate of their musical hero. It won the Academy Award for best documentary in 2013.
Rodriguez was “more popular than Elvis” in South Africa, Stephen “Sugar” Segerman said in 2013. The Cape Town record store owner’s nickname comes from the Rodriguez song “Sugarman”.

DOJ paves the way for a legal war on fact-checking
- an hour ago

The smartphone-sized Boox Palma 2 is cheaper than ever for Prime Day
- an hour ago
Federal cabinet approves 15pc increase in EOBI pensions
- 13 hours ago

Bitcoin loses 3.6pc after hitting record-high level
- 9 hours ago

Punjab: 28 killed, 90 injured in rains in past 24 hours, says rescuer official
- 10 hours ago

Musk makes grand promises about Grok 4 in the wake of a Nazi chatbot meltdown
- an hour ago

Gold price plummets Rs3,000 in Pakistan
- 12 hours ago

Netflix keeps Squid Game going with more of its reality show
- an hour ago

Performance of ministries to be evaluated every two months, says PM Shehbaz
- 15 hours ago

Utility Stores to halt operations countrywide by July 31
- 9 hours ago

Israel is taking its old Gaza model abroad
- 14 hours ago
Three killed, several wounded in passenger coach attack in Balochistan's Kalat district
- 11 hours ago