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I was walking around Amoeba the other day looking for new and interesting CD’s that would make good gifts, when I came across this reissued disc from some 60’s folk-rocker simply named Rodriguez. After giving it a quick listen, I was sold and immediately tossed in my “buy” pile and went on with my search. As it turns out, there’s a really interesting story here.

Sixto Rodriguez was born in Detroit to Mexican immigrants. His debut album, Cold Fact, was recorded in 1969 and released in the spring of 1970. It was great stuff but the record ultimately failed because of Rodriguez’s strange behavior. At one point, he played an industry showcase with his back to the audience the entire time and the record’s producer, Mike Theodore, recalled that he would only play at “hooker bars, inner city dives, and biker bars.” He did release a follow-up album but that failed as well, and Rodriguez eventually called it quits and slipped into anonymity.

While all this was happening, Rodriguez was becoming a hit on the other end of the earth in places like Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Amazingly, he had no idea and he went on with his life while filling a series of odd jobs. For years he was rumored to have died of a heroin overdose, burned to death on stage, been put in jail for killing his girlfriend and even convicted to a mental institution. But as it turns out, he was discovered by a journalist almost 30 years later alive and well in Detroit. Since then, he has successfully toured 5,000 seat venues in S. Africa and been featured on national television, and now the original recording of his debut album has finally be remastered and re-released.

If you love the anti-establishment classic rock of Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and others, go get it…

Sugar Man – Rodriguez