During An All Day Event At The Majestic Theatre, Detroit Will Honor Singer Songwriter Sixto Rodriguez:
On Saturday, Sixto Rodriguez was remembered as a true artist with a heart for the people who loved his life to be a Detroiter.
The street-poet-minded singer-songwriter who died was remembered at a warm, homey, music-filled funeral at the Majestic Theatre. Family, friends, fellow artists, and fans came and went throughout the day-long event.
There Are Flowers, Candles, As Well As His Favorite Yamaha Guitar All Around The Stage:
At the Midtown venue, the stage was decorated with flowers, candles, and items from Rodriguez’s music career, like his favorite Yamaha guitar, which he took to hundreds of shows.
His young grandkids ran surrounding the theater floor while old-timers from Detroit’s rock scene, including a few who were going to play at the 11-hour memorial, gathered nearby.
“He was almost too kind,” said Rodriguez-Kennedy, the middle of three daughters Rodriguez had. “As his girls, we thought, ‘Are you sure?’ But we did everything he asked. It means a lot that people remember that as well as want to say him one last “thank you.”
On Saturday, A Lot Of People Went To The Theater:
On Saturday, a lot of people came to the theater at 3711 Woodward Ave. to share stories, listen to music, and remember the famous Motor City singer, who became famous after being in a documentary that won an Academy Award.
Rodriguez-Barachkov, the musician’s youngest daughter, said, “There has been a lot of support today, and it’s amazing to hear all the stories of people who knew and worked with him.”
Rodriguez, Who Worked Behind The Scenes For Decades:
In other parts of the venue, candid family photos, career photos, backstage passes, sales-award plaques, and various other artifacts helped show the full and thoughtful life of a musician who worked in the shadows for decades until the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” brought him to the world’s attention in 2012.
Rodriguez, who was the focus of the documentary “Searching for Sugar Man,” passed Tuesday night in the Detroit neighborhood of Woodbridge, where he had lived for many years. 81 years old.
The Documentary Addressed How Successful Rodriguez Was:
The singer-songwriter went from being unknown to famous all over the world after making two records in Detroit within the early 1970s. The documentary showed how he made this amazing trip.
a number of Rodriguez’s songs is called “Sugar Man” and talks about the dangers of addiction. It’s one of the songs which assisted him get a lot of fans within South Africa, Australia, as well as New Zealand, which he didn’t know about until many years later.
“Everyone in the world knew Rodriguez’s songs. “That makes me believe again that ‘what you seek has also been sought by you,’ because he looked for it with all his heart, and it all came together at an appropriate time,” Rodriguez-Kennedy said.
Blue Candy Pieces Were Placed Along The Edges Of The Tables At The Majestic:
The blue candy pieces on the tables at the Majestic were a reference to the first line of his 1970 song “Sugar Man”: “For a blue coin, won’t you return back all those colors to my dreams?”
This song was one of the long-forgotten gems on Rodriguez’s two studio albums from the early 1970s, “Cold Fact” as well as “Coming from Reality.”
These songs didn’t do well when they came out, but fans in South Africa during the time of apartheid found meaning within the socially progressive art of the mysterious Detroiter.
His Daughter, Regan Rodriguez, Was In Charge Of Saturday’s Event:
His daughter, Regan Rodriguez, was in charge of Saturday’s event. She was also in charge of a lot of her father’s traveling business during his 2010 comeback. “It was bittersweet,” she said, to plan one last Sixto Rodriguez event.
Even though he was recognized later in his career, Rodriguez-Barachkov stated it was a “sweet victory” for her father. “You know, we judge people here in America based on how much money they make or don’t make,” she said.
“He used to walk to the bus stop, but now he’s on a private jet. “It was wonderful to see someone who deserved it change for the better,” she said.
Rodriguez Said, “Do you want to know what life is all about? You don’t know when it will be over”:
Kennedy said that Rodriguez, who got a degree in philosophy from Wayne State University in 1981, thought a lot about the flow of life and was very calm about the idea of death. That included sayings he liked to tell his family and other people.
One of his sayings was, “You come into life with a closed fist and leave alongside an open palm.” “You want to understand how life works? “You don’t know when it will end,” someone else said.
Still, Kennedy said that her father had been a proud man who hid his flaws, like the fact that he was missing a finger from an elderly accident at work and was becoming more and more blind in the last ten years of his life.
Sugar Man Helped Him Earn Fans In Australia And South Africa:
In the Majestic lobby on Saturday afternoon, two guest books were quickly filled alongside names of people from all over Michigan as well as even a few from South Africa as well as Australia, two places where Rodriguez’s music gained a strong following even though he was still unknown in places like Detroit.
On Saturday, Detroit artists Dave Buick, Troy Gregory, and Matthew Smith, who has played dozens of shows with Rodriguez, were set to take the stage. On stage was a new drum set that the late artist had just bought.
Graham Gillot, who was born in South Africa and worked as a musical director with Rodriguez for 20 years, was also there.
Rodriguez Took Part In A Show In Nashville That Proved Out To Be The Singer Songwriter’s Last Show:
Early in 2020, he played in Nashville, which turned out to be the singer-songwriter’s last show. On Saturday, he said that a planned show in Detroit was canceled because of the pandemic lockdown.
On Saturday, musicians talked about how Rodriguez’s shows were loose and odd. He didn’t make a set list before going on stage because he thought music was a living art. Instead, he chose to go alongside the flow as well as call songs as they came up.
One band member told a story about a Cass Corridor show at the Old Miami bar. Rodriguez told the players on the spot that he wanted to play for six hours, which they did, playing some songs over and over again.
Steve Paljusevic Stated That Detroiters Were Proud Of Rodriguez:
Steve Paljusevic, from Hamtramck, was one of the local fans who went to the Majestic to pay their respects. He said that Rodriguez was a source of pride for Detroit. “Right now, this whole city is empty,” he said. “He was a hard worker and a person with strong beliefs.”
On Saturday afternoon, Kennedy Rodriguez, a member of the Rodriguez family, spoke to the crowd and, in a roundabout way, to all of her father’s fans. “All the people from around the world who have sent well wishes: You give me strength,” she said.
