Sixto Rodriguez, also known as Rodriguez, has sadly passed away. A statement was issued on his Twitter. He was 81 years old.

Rodriguez was best-known for his  releases Cold Fact and Coming From Reality in the early 1970s. Both albums found a massive following in Oceania and  South Africa.

Rodriguez lived a private life, where eventually fans thought he had died by suicide. Throughout his career, he won an  Academy Award-winning documentary film Searching for Sugar Man in 2012. In May 2013, Rodriguez received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from his alma mater, Wayne State University, in Detroit.

That same year, he also received some of his most attended US concerts to date, including a headlining show at New York’s Beacon Theatre and the Montreux Jazz Festival.

Many musicians were inspired by Rodriguez, including Dave Matthews.  In 2022, Matthews played at Pine Knob, met Rodriguez and praised him from the stage during the concert, saying Rodriguez was “one of my heroes growing up” in Johannesburg, South Africa. The band would also cover his song “Sugar Man” quite often at some of their shows.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat