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| Rodriguez | Primary Artist, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals |
| Gary Taylor | Bass |
| Dennis Coffey | Electric Guitar |
| Chris Spedding | Guitar |
| Jimmy Horowitz | Violin |
| Mike Theodore | Keyboards |
| Bob Babbitt | Bass |
| Tony Carr | Percussion |
| Phil Dennys | Keyboards |
| Gordon Staples | Leader |
| Andrew Steele | Drums |
| Detroit Symphony Orchestra | Strings |
| Bob Pangborn | Percussion |
| Andrew Smith | Drums |
| Carl Reatz | Horn |
| Dennis Coffey | Arranger, Producer |
| Jimmy Horowitz | Arranger |
| Mike Theodore | Arranger, Producer, Engineer, String Arrangements, Brass Arrangment |
| Adam Block | Executive Producer |
| Phil Dennys | Arranger |
| Steve Rowland | Producer |
| John MacSwith | Engineer |
| Dave Cooley | Remastering |
| Rob Santos | Producer |
| Rodriguez | Archival Materials |
| Matt Sullivan | Producer |
| Milan Bogden | Engineer |
| Sixto Rodriguez | Composer |
| Jim Burzese | Engineer |
| Elysian Masters | Remastering |
One of the great things about recorded music is that even if its not initally successful, sometimes it does eventually find its way to an audience. This is especially true of The Velvet Underground, The Stooges and The Ramones, whose records didn't sell well in the beginning but have now become the DNA for most of today's alternative rock. This is also true of many singer-songwriters such as Tim Buckley, Randy Newman and Laura Nyro. And then, there's Sixto Rodriguez, who often went by his last name. This Detroit-based performer, looking like Jose Feliciano, recorded two albums here in America but they hardly made a dent.
However, those albums did find their way to South Africa in the early 1970's and Rodriguez not only became a major star there but also a mythical figure in the burgeoning anti-Apartheid movement at the time. Then in late 1970's, Rodriguez disappeared. Stories abounded as to what really happened to him, including one where he reportedly committed suicide. Filmmaker Malik Bendejelloul decided to investigate as to whatever became of Rodriguez.
To tell you more of the story would ruin it for you. Yet, I will say that "Searching For Sugar Man" has the potential to being one of the finest films of 2012. As for his music, Rodriguez' folksy, poetic tunes remain timeless and memorable, particularly "Sugar Man", "I Wonder" and "Inner City Blues". His first album, "Cold Fact" was made in Detroit with some of the city's top musicians, some of whom recorded for Motown. For his follow-up, "Coming From Reality", Rodriguez went to London with Chris Spedding and other great British musicians. The soundtrack features the best songs from both of those albums. You may find yourself singing some of these songs after the first listening. That's how talented Rodriguez was.
By the way, the CD has a caption saying, "Rodriguez receives royalties from the sale of this release". It's nice to know that some stories in the music industry have a happy ending.
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Editorial Reviews
All Music Guide
In the documentary Searching for Sugar Man, director Malik Bendjelloul looks back at two music fans' quest in the early '90s to learn the fate of '70s singer/songwriter Rodriguez (born Sixto Diaz Rodriguez to Mexican immigrant parents in Detroit), musically accompanied by the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack that collects tracks from his two albums. Growing up in South Africa, record retailer Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and music journalist Craig Bartholomew had a very different relationship with Rodriguez than folks in his native U.S.; while debut Cold Fact and follow-up Coming from Reality (released on the short-lived Sussex label in 1970 and 1971, respectively) attracted critical praise from the few press outlets ...