SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (DOCUMENTARY FILM)

Summary

A documentary film about enigmatic 1970's American folk musician Rodriguez and the efforts of his South African fans to find him. Stephen "Sugar" Segerman, a record store owner from Cape Town, South Africa, explains that his nickname derives from the song "Sugar Man" by a recording artist known as Rodriguez, released in 1970. The "Cold Fact" LP is the biggest-selling album in South African history, but for many years the details of Rodriguez's life remained a mystery to South Africans, and it was rumored that he had committed suicide during a concert years before. The producers of "Cold Fact," Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore, recall meeting Rodriguez in 1968, playing in small venues in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan. Many recount the sense of mystique surrounding him and classify him as an "inner city poet." Unlike in South Africa, Rodriguez never achieved any appreciable popularity in the United States. Steve Rowland, producer of Rodriguez's second album "Coming from Reality," recounts working with him and speaks highly of his talent. He recounts that "Coming from Reality" never made any impact on American audiences, and that one of his songs seemed to eerily predict that his label would drop him. In South Africa, however, Rodriguez's impact was far more prevalent. No one knows exactly how the album "Cold Fact" first made its way into the country, but it soon spread quickly and became more popular than the biggest albums of the time. "Cold Fact" was proliferated throughout South Africa during the height of Apartheid, and to many Rodriguez's music captured a spirit of rebellion, encouraging people to protest against the injustices of their society. His music became something of an "anthem" for young people, particularly musicians, who were dissatisfied with South Africa in the 1970's, when the country was an ultra-conservative military state rife with censorship. A group of young musicians known as the Voëlvry Movement were among the first to lead public protests against Apartheid; many of them were inspired by Rodriguez. Due to South Africa's isolationism, no one was able to acquire more information about Rodriguez, and so he seemed to be a mysterious disembodied figure to them. The Apartheid government attempted to ban "Cold Fact," going so far as to scratch out the parts of the record containing the song "Sugar Man" to ensure that it could not be played, as they were attempting to censor the lyrics focusing on drugs and drug dealers. However, banning the song only increased the public's interest in it. Segerman recalls that in the 1990's, he discovered that Rodriguez was relatively obscure in the United States, which puzzled him. He attempted to discover why this was so, but he had very few clues to go on. Even Rodriguez's name was credited in several different ways on his album, further obscuring him. The lyrics to his songs offered little in the way of revealing his identity either. Music journalist Craig Bartholomew-Strydom recounts one of the rumors of Rodriguez's death, which reported that he shot himself in the head after a particularly disastrous concert. In 1996, a South African record label re-releases "Coming from Reality" on CD, and Segerman is asked to co-write the liner notes. In it he comments on the mystery surrounding Rodriguez's life and identity and inquires if any "musicologist detectives" can solve it. Around the same time, Bartholomew-Strydom decides he wants to write an article about Rodriguez's death and upon reading Segerman's liner notes decides to take up the challenge. His investigations at first yield little in the way of results. He determines that royalties from the sale of Rodriguez's albums in South Africa were sent to either A&M Records or Sussex Records, who produced the albums in the United States. Eventually this leads him to Clarence Avant, former head of Sussex Records, who recounts his dealings with Rodriguez. He claims that he did not know about Rodriguez's popularity in South Africa and that it would be virtually impossible to track down the details of his contracts from the 1970's. Segerman conducts his own research, setting up a website called "The Great Rodriguez Hunt" to collect information about Rodriguez's whereabouts from around the world. Segerman and Bartholomew-Strydom meet and exchange information, but find that they have both made little progress. As Bartholomew-Strydom contemplates giving up the search, he is inspired by one of Rodriguez's song lyrics and follows a few clues which lead him to Detroit, Michigan, and Mike Theodore in particular. In August 1997, Bartholomew-Strydom calls Theodore long-distance from South Africa to ask about Rodriguez. Bartholomew-Strydom calls it "euphoric" to finally learn facts about Rodriguez's life. The biggest discovery comes when he discovers that the rumors about Rodriguez's death are untrue: he is still alive, living in downtown Detroit. Excited by this knowledge, Bartholomew-Strydom finally writes his article about the search for Rodriguez, and it is eventually found by one of his daughters, Eva Rodriguez. On September 12th, 1997, she posts a comment on Segerman's website, giving him further information about her father. They speak, and in the middle of the night, Segerman receives a call from Rodriguez himself, leaving him awestruck. Rodriguez, full name Sixto Rodriguez, lived in Detroit all his life and works as a blue-collar laborer, operating mainly in home restoration and demolitions. He had been unaware of his popularity in South Africa, and recounts his brief music career before he went back to his day job. Rodriguez's father emigrated from Mexico to Detroit to work in the auto factories there. He and his daughters recount that although he was poor he embodied a philosophy of "dreaming big" and taught his children that their economic class shouldn't prevent them from achieving those dreams. He was a Philosophy major who exposed himself and his family to the arts. They recount his activism and involvement with protests, and that he even attempted to run for the Detroit city council, although he lost the ballot. He recalls his work on "Cold Fact," and seems unsurprised that it did not sell well, owing to the fickle nature of the music business. Segerman tells Rodriguez about his immense popularity in South Africa, and on March 2nd, 1998, Rodriguez and his daughters arrive in the country to play a concert tour. The Rodriguez family is astounded at the lavish treatment they are given by the South Africans, who are abuzz with excitement about Rodriguez's tour. On March 6th, thousands of people arrive for the concert and cheer wildly when Rodriguez appears onstage. In the midst of all the excitement surrounding his concert, Rodriguez remains "grounded;" the band performing with him recounts that he had a sense of "tranquility" on stage. He goes on to play six sold-out shows across South Africa, creating a media sensation. However, upon returning to Detroit Rodriguez resumes his old life and job without interruption. He collected no royalties from his album sales in South Africa and still lives by modest means. The aftermath of the concert tour carries with it many changes for the people involved. Eva marries the bodyguard assigned to protect Rodriguez during the concert tour and they have a son together. Segerman quits his job as a jeweler and opens his record store. The only person seemingly unaffected by the whole experience is Rodriguez himself, who continues to live in the same small house in Detroit where he has resided for the past 40 years. He has returned to South Africa several times since and played thirty concerts, but has given away most of the money from those tours to his family and friends. The documentary features a number of Rodriguez's songs, including: "Sugar Man," "Crucify Your Mind," "Cause," "I Wonder," "This is Not a Song, it's an Outburst, or The Establishment Blues," "Can't Get Away," "I Think of You," "Sandrevan Lullaby," "Street Boy," "A Most Disgusting Song," "Lifestyles," "I'll Slip Away," "Jane S. Piddy," "Inner City Blues," and "Forget It."

Details

• NETWORK: N/A
• DATE: January 19, 2012
• RUNNING TIME: 1:26:14
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 110377
• GENRE: Public affairs/documentaries
• SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/documentaries
• SERIES RUN: N/A
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• John Battsek … Executive Producer
• Hjalmar Palmgren … Executive Producer
• Sheryl Crown … Executive Producer
• Maggie Montieth … Executive Producer
• Andrew Ruhemann … Executive Producer
• Malik Bendjelloul … Producer, Director, Writer, Music by
• Simon Chinn … Producer
• George Chignell … Co-Producer
• Nicole Scott … Co-Producer
• Malla Grapengiesser … Co-Producer
• Peter Schildt … Consulting Producer
• Filmtecknarna … Animation
• Sixto Rodriguez (See also: Rodriguez) … Music by
• Stephen "Sugar" Segerman … Guest
• Dennis Coffey … Guest
• Mike Theodore … Guest
• Dan DiMaggio … Guest
• Jerome Ferretti … Guest
• Steve Rowland … Guest
• Willem Möller … Guest
• Craig Bartholomew-Strydom … Guest
• Ilse Assmann … Guest
• Steve M. Harris … Guest
• Robbie Mann … Guest
• Clarence Avant … Guest
• Eva Rodriguez … Guest
• Sixto Rodriguez (See also: Rodriguez) … Guest
• Regan Rodriguez … Guest
• Rick Emmerson … Guest
• Sandra Rodriguez-Kennedy … Guest
• Rian Malan … Guest
• Johannes Kerkorrel
• Koos Kombius