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