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This won the Oscar for best documentary a couple of years back, and while I had heard the name of it, I never knew what it was about. When the director died a few weeks back I read a little about it and decided to check it out and it is really an incredible story.
Cliffnotes: Guy named Sixto Rodriguez makes 2 albums in the very early 70's that flop in the US. They are typical anti-establishment type music of the time, sort of Bob Dylanish, pretty damn good really, but don't sell. Somehow a few copies make it to South Africa while Apartheid is going on and become a rallying cry for the protesters and those that are fighting Apartheid. He becomes as big as The Beatles there. Due to the government controlling the media, no one knows anything about him, and stories of an elaborate death on stage fill the country. While this is going on, he has no idea, and has given up music. 30 years later some Cape Town journalists find out he is alive, track him down, find out he is remodeling houses in Detroit. He comes to Cape Town and rocks out a bunch of sold out concerts, and the country goes crazy.
It is all fascinating how everything fell through the cracks in the right way to where this guy was basically blindsided with incredible fame for something he had done 30 years ago. And he takes it all rather humbly as well. Movie is pretty low budget, but the material is fascinating. Worth a watch.
Cliffnotes: Guy named Sixto Rodriguez makes 2 albums in the very early 70's that flop in the US. They are typical anti-establishment type music of the time, sort of Bob Dylanish, pretty damn good really, but don't sell. Somehow a few copies make it to South Africa while Apartheid is going on and become a rallying cry for the protesters and those that are fighting Apartheid. He becomes as big as The Beatles there. Due to the government controlling the media, no one knows anything about him, and stories of an elaborate death on stage fill the country. While this is going on, he has no idea, and has given up music. 30 years later some Cape Town journalists find out he is alive, track him down, find out he is remodeling houses in Detroit. He comes to Cape Town and rocks out a bunch of sold out concerts, and the country goes crazy.
It is all fascinating how everything fell through the cracks in the right way to where this guy was basically blindsided with incredible fame for something he had done 30 years ago. And he takes it all rather humbly as well. Movie is pretty low budget, but the material is fascinating. Worth a watch.
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