Do yourself a favor and check out the documentary Searching for Sugarman.  It is one of the most remarkable films I have ever experienced.  For those who plan on seeing the film, you may want to stop reading this–Spoiler Alert!

The film focuses on a man named Rodriguez, a folk musician who hails from the amazing city of Detroit (okay, I’m very biased as I live in Detroit!).  In the late 60′s Rodriguez played in clubs around the city and gained a small local following.  He released a couple of albums that went nowhere and he soon disappeared from the music scene.

In the early 70′s someone brought a copy of Rodriguez’s first album, Cold Fact, to South Africa.  Something about the songs resonated with people, especially those who were fighting in the anti-apartheid movement, and the album became very popular.  Actually, that is an understatement: as one gentleman in the film commented, in South Africa Rodriguez became bigger than Elvis Presley.  Due to Rodriguez’s abrupt departure from music, many myths emerged to explain what happened to him.  Some people said that he had lit himself on fire on stage, others said he had put a bullet in his head (also on stage).  The rest of the film explores what happened when a couple of fans in South Africa decided to get serious about finding out the true story.  Check out the film to learn what happened!

A few things have stayed with me weeks after viewing this film.  First of all, it turns out that Rodriguez lives (or lived) in my neighborhood—just a few blocks away in fact.  Holy Crap!  I’ve probably seen this dude walking around and had no clue who he was or what he had done.  How many people do we pass by anonymously every day?  This film caused me to reflect on the idea that everyone has a fascinating story–a life narrative that is sweet, ugly, harsh, beautiful and, at times, mundane.  But all of these stories are amazing in their own way.

Secondly, I reflected on how many musicians who work at their craft and never receive any attention.  According to the producer who worked on Rodriguez’s first album, his talent could have rivaled even Dylan’s, and yet no one in the U.S. knew who he was and never heard his music on the radio.  Here’s a thought: could it be that decisions regarding what is/was played on the radio are moral decisions?  These are decisions that can change peoples’ lives.  Now Rodriguez receives the attention and accolades that eluded him 40 years ago, but there are hundreds of others who will never be noticed.  Meanwhile, some artists are literally “created” by music companies looking to cash in on whatever is the latest trend or fad in music.

Finally, I find myself filled with pride for my hometown.  So much good music has emerged from Detroit and the creative musical energy of this town seems limitless.  This is a topic for another blog post, but I encourage readers to explore the musical history of their own cities.  You may find stories as compelling as Rodriguez’s.  Whatever you find, please share it with us!

Dave Nantais, Motown

 

3 Comments »

1. 

   Some Australians were a little disappointed that his underground fame here in Australia wasn’t mentioned in the film. He had a cult following here – especially his song ‘I Wonder’. I was introduced to Rodriguez by a friend when we were both students at the University of Sydney in the late 1970s. The story we had was that by then he’d returned to working as a social worker. Thanks for your post!

   Comment by Andrew Tredinnick — January 21, 2013 @ 3:22 am

2. 

   Andrew, thank you for your comment. I was unaware that Rodriguez had a cult following in Australia. I agree with you–it is too bad the film did not explore this too.

   Comment by Dave Nantais — January 21, 2013 @ 6:18 am

3. 

   Hey Dave… interesting post. Thank you. i think the fact of great artists not being invested in and others being invested as one of the saddest truths of musical culture in the West. So much talent hidden away… and vested interests…

   Comment by Maeve Heaney — January 28, 2013 @ 2:23 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Leave a comment

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Spam Protection by WP-SpamFree