Public memorial planned for famed Detroit musician Rodriguez
Louis AguilarA public memorial will be held Saturday at a local music venue for celebrated Detroit musician Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, the singer who rose to international fame after being featured in an Academy Award-winning documentary.
The memorial will start at noon and run until closing at the Majestic Theatre, 3711 Woodward, according to an obituary posted by Verheyden Funeral Home & Cremation Service. No other details were provided.
Rodriguez, the subject of "Searching for Sugar Man," died Tuesday night at his longtime home in Detroit's Woodbridge neighborhood. He was 81.
The documentary traced the singer-songwriter's remarkable journey from obscurity to international success that he achieved decades after he recorded two albums in Detroit in the early 1970s. The film, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2013.
"Sugar Man" is the title of one of Rodriguez's songs, which describes the perils of addiction. It is one of the songs that helped him gain a huge following in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand — a popularity he learned about years after he recorded two albums in the early 1970s that flopped in the United States.
On Wednesday, tributes to Rodriguez appeared on social media from across the globe.
"I’m so sorry to hear about Sixto Rodriguez," said singer-songwriter Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys, on social media. "He toured with us in 2015, and he was a very talented and nice man. Love & Mercy to Sixto’s family and friends."
Primal Scream bassist Simone Marie Butler called him "a beautifully unique soul." She said she "was lucky to see him live at the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago," referring to the legendary venue in London.
"I’d say most of the audience including myself were in tears by the end," said Butler.
United Kingdom-based music and cultural writer Thomas Hobbs described Rodriguez's records as two of the greatest albums of the 1970s. Hobbs added: "His story of experiencing delayed adulation/fame carries a romance that will never not be inspiring. RIP to a legend.”