Legendary singer-songwriter Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has died on the age of 81, it has been confirmed.

The star – who was identified solely by his final identify – reportedly suffered a stroke within the months earlier than his dying and struggled with sickness following the incident.

A publish shared on the musician’s official weblog and web site introduced his dying. “It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today,” it learn. “We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his daughters – Sandra, Eva and Regan – and to all his family.”

Rodriguez’s dying was additionally confirmed to News24 by Stephen “Sugar” Segerman, who runs SugarMan.org. “We’ve confirmed with his daughter, Sandra, that he passed away yesterday, August 8, at 17:30 Detroit time,” Segerman stated.

sixto diaz rodriguez in 2014 credit: suzi pratt/filmmagic

After releasing two poorly-selling albums (1970’s ‘Cold Fact’ and 1971’s ‘Coming From Reality’) on Sussex Information, he was dropped and give up music in favour of working within the demolition and manufacturing line industries.

Whereas Rodriguez’s information did not make a mark within the US on the time of their launch, they gained quite a few followers overseas, together with his reputation rising in international locations like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. ‘At His Best’, a compilation album launched by Australian label Blue Goose, was licensed platinum in South Africa, whereas he toured Australia in 1979 and 1981.

A long time later, after studying that his fame in South Africa had solely grown for the reason that ‘70s, he held a tour there, during which time the documentary Dead Men Don’t Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa was filmed. The title was a nod to a hearsay within the nation that the star had killed himself throughout a live performance a long time earlier. He would go on to return to South Africa for extra excursions, performing in 2001 and 2005.

Over time, Rodriguez slowly grew to become a cult determine in his dwelling nation too, with Nas sampling his signature tune ‘Sugar Man’ within the 2001 monitor ‘You Da Man’, whereas the monitor additionally appeared on the soundtrack for Heath Ledger’s 2006 movie Sweet. In 2009, his two studio albums have been reissued by Mild In The Attic Information.

His infamy reached its peak in 2012, although, with the premiere of the documentary Looking For Sugar Man. The movie was directed by Malik Bendjelloul and adopted two South African followers as they sought to seek out out if the rumours of Rodriguez’s dying have been true and, if not, what had occurred to him. It was screened at Sundance Movie Pageant and went on to win the BAFTA for Greatest Documentary and the Oscar for Greatest Documentary Function in 2013.

Following the movie’s launch, Rodriguez held a raft of headline exhibits and competition dates, together with an look at Glastonbury 2013 and a headline slot at Wilderness Pageant that very same yr.

Tributes have begun to be paid to the legendary singer-songwriter by musicians and followers. The Brian Jonestown Bloodbath’s Anton Newcombe wrote on Twitter/X: “RIP Sixto Rodriguez – I’m happy your people found you before you passed on.”

Shamir posted Rodriguez’s tune ‘Cause’, writing: “RIP Sixto Rodriguez. This is literally one of the best songs ever written, and one of my absolute favs.”

See extra tributes under.

This can be a growing information story and will probably be up to date.