‘Sugar Man’ singer Rodriguez dies at 81

DETROIT — Singer and songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who became the subject of the Oscar-winning documen- tary “Searching for Sugar Man,” has died. He was 81.

Rodriguez’ death Tuesday in Detroit was announced on the Sugarman. org website and confirmed Wednesday by his granddaughter, Amanda Kennedy.

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 U.S. 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 brutal racial segregation system of apartheid.

Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul’s documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” presented Rodriguez to a much larger audience. The film tells of two South Africans’ mission to seek out the fate of their musical hero. It won the Academy Award for best documentary in 2013.

Rodriguez was “more popular than Elvis” in South Africa, Stephen “Sugar” Segerman said in 2013. The Cape Town record store owner’s nickname comes from the Rodriguez song “Sugar Man.”

As his popularity in South Africa grew, Rodriguez lived in Detroit. But his fans in South Africa believed he also was famous in the United States, and they heard stories that the musician had died dramatically.

In 1996, Segerman and journalist Carl Bartholomew-Strydom set out to learn the truth. Their efforts led them to Detroit, where they found Rodriguez working on construction sites.

“It’s rock ‘n’ roll history now. Who would-a thought?” Rodriguez said a decade ago.

Rodriguez said he just “went back to work” after his music career fizzled, raising a family that includes three daughters and launching several unsuccessful campaigns for public office. He made a living through manual labor in Detroit.

Still, he never stopped playing music.

Rodriguez