Rodriguez, subject of Oscar-winning doc, dies at 81

Sixto Rodriguez, who lived in obscurity as his music career flamed out early in the U.S. only to find success in South Africa and a stardom he was unaware of, died Tuesday in Detroit. He was 81.

Rodriguez’s legacy would take off back home after the singer and songwriter became the subject of the Oscarwinning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man.”

His death was announced on the Sugarman.org website and confirmed Wednesday by his granddaughter, Amanda Kennedy. He died following a short illness, according to his wife, Konny Rodriguez, 72.

A 2013 Associated Press story referred to Rodriguez as “the greatest protest singer and songwriter that most people never heard of.”

His albums flopped in the United States in the 1970s, but – unknown to him – he later became a star in South Africa where his songs protesting the Vietnam War, racial inequality, abuse of women and social mores inspired white liberals horrified by the country’s racial segregation system of apartheid.