RIP Sixto Rodriguez (July 10, 1942-August 8, 2023), photo courtesy of guah, via Flickr
On August 8, 2023, Detroit-born singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez sadly passed away at 81. Under the name Rodriguez, he released two studio albums between 1970-71, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality. The albums achieved little success in America, but he did find success in a few countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and most notably South Africa.
In South Africa, his music resonated with white folks who opposed apartheid and yearned for change. This impact was chronicled in the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man. The film introduced him to a larger audience.
Even though his music wasn’t always explicitly political, he often expressed an awareness of current events. Rodriguez stated, “I’ve always concentrated on social issues because I’ve always found it easiest to write about things that upset me.”
Here are five notable examples of his socially conscious tunes.
This Is Not a Song, It’s an Outburst: Or, the Establishment Blues (1970)
This poignant tune off his debut album Cold Fact addresses several societal ills (“Women ain’t protected”, “pollution in the river”, “Gun sales are soaring”, “new war in the Far East”).
Hate Street Dialogue (1970)
Another tune off his debut, it is one of the few that he didn’t write. The lyrics referenced Haight/Ashbury, the well-known hippie district in San Francisco. The song includes mention of the “pig and hose” which alluded to the police harassment directed at the counterculture. In 2014, French DJ The Avener released a remix of the tune featuring Rodriguez.
Inner City Blues (1970)
Like many of his tunes, this track off his debut explores the plight of the inner-city poor.
Sandrevan Lullaby – Lifestyles (1971)
One of the highlights of his sophomore album Coming from Reality, this gorgeous tune is a fine display of both his musicianship and poeticism. Vivid imagery is conjured up by lyrics such as “Judges with meter maid hearts/ Order supermarket justice starts / Frozen children inner city.”
Cause (1971)
Debating whether or not to include this tune from his sophomore album because he has other compositions that better meet the definition of protest songs. But this is one of my all-time favorites and it is a devasting listening experience. Even though it may not be direct social commentary, the lyrics do address frustrations often experienced by the working class. Also, the lyrical reference to the company store could possibly be a reference to Merle Travis’s 1947 classic protest tune “Sixteen Tons” (“I owe my soul to the company store”).