Had he not fallen victim to slow sales in the early ’70s, Detroit-born rocker Rodriguez could have been one of the biggest acts of the decade. After releasing two sturdy, Dylanesque albums, 1970’s Cold Fact and Coming From Reality the next year, Rodriguez left rock and roll behind. Little did “Sugar Man” know, but his material would be cultishly beloved in South Africa, where the damning, righteous rock of Cold Fact was fanning the flames against Apartheid. This year’s documentary Searching for Sugar Man chronicles Rodriguez’s hidden, unlikely superstardom.
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2012.