Sugar Man

[helix]

Rodriguez’s rediscovery by South Africans in 1998 .

Great story I still get teary when he walks on stage in South Africa for the first time. You can see folks in the crowd saying to each other, its really him!

(12) Rodriguez: First performance in Africa, crowd goes crazy - YouTube

"The emotional high-point of this extraordinary documentary comes when Rodriguez arrives in South Africa and is greeted with love and admiration by awestruck fans who cannot believe their eyes when their hero appears onstage and sings the songs they know by heart." 

[Ken Gargett]

3 hours ago, helix said:

Rodriguez’s rediscovery by South Africans in 1998 .

Great story I still get teary when he walks on stage in South Africa for the first time. You can see folks in the crowd saying to each other, its really him!

(12) Rodriguez: First performance in Africa, crowd goes crazy - YouTube

"The emotional high-point of this extraordinary documentary comes when Rodriguez arrives in South Africa and is greeted with love and admiration by awestruck fans who cannot believe their eyes when their hero appears onstage and sings the songs they know by heart." 

rodriguez was massive in australia late 70s and a good chunk of the 80s. huge. the songs would be sung at every party. i can still sing a heap of them. i was staggered when i went to london in the mid 80s to study and was staying at a place with people from all over, and the americans had never heard of him. astonishing. 

he was not quite as big as dylan, the stones, bruce et al, but for many he would have been not far short of neil young, bowie etc, at that time, in popularity. i remember sneaking in to his concerts, two nights running in brizzy. 

still have CDs of his.

anyone with interest in music should see that doco, 'sugar man'. a cracker. fascinating. 

also, one of my best mate's mother's name was ann johnson. and so that line about 'give a medal to replace the son of mrs annie johnson', was something we did not miss. 

i wonder...

[helix]

500,000 albums sold in SA alone up until 1998. More than Elvis. Who pocketed the cash ? I wonder.... 

I hadn't  heard of him in Canada until the doc. A happy positive story rare to find these days.

[JohnInCleveland]

Second this.  Sugar man was one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen.  

[Islandboy]

Yep, saw this documentary several years ago...great story, and I definitely dig his music and eclectic style.