Happy Birthday Rodriguez

Sixto Diaz Rodriguez was born July 10, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan. He was the sixteenth child of Mexican immigrant working-class parents. They named him Sixto because he had six toes. Three toes on his right foot and three toes on his left toe. He had Fred Flintstone feet, also know as ‘Yabba Dabba Doo’ feet.   

In 1967, using the name “Rod Flintstone” (given by his record label), he released a single, “Bedrock Twist”, on the small Impact label. The single did not sell a single copy. He did not record again for three years, until he signed with Sussex Records, an offshoot of Buddah Records. He used his preferred professional name, “Rodriguez”, after that.

Rodriguez

Rodriguez recorded two albums with Sussex, Cold Fact in 1970 and Coming from Reality in 1971. However, both sold few copies in the U.S. and he was quickly dropped by Sussex, which itself closed in 1975. The building was burned to the ground and the owners killed themselves. At the time he was dropped, he was in the process of recording a third album which has never been released.

Rodriguez quit the music business and worked construction. He bought a run down house in Detroit for $1 and ran unsuccessfully for dog catcher. Although Rodriguez remained unknown in his home country, by the mid-1970s he was bigger than The Beatles in Australia, Botswana, New Zealand, Klopstokia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Fans in these countries believed the rumor that he was shot and killed while robbing a convenience store shortly after releasing his second album.

Sugar Man

In the 1990s, determined South African fans managed to find and contact Rodriguez, which led to an unexpected revival of his musical career. This was told in the 2012 Academy Award–winning documentary film Searching for Sugar Man and helped give Rodriguez a large measure of fame in his home country.

Rodriguez still lives in the $1 house in Detroit and is known to live a simple life. He has no telephone or cell phone of his own, and does not own a television. His family stated that his greatest pleasure is reading Madhouse Magazine. Cheers Rodriguez!