Searching For Sugarman (2012)

[Archivist]

A friend went and saw his concert in Melbourne last week and said he had to be led onto stage, was quite often out of time with the music and had to practice each song briefly before they played, so it was an underwhelming concert.  Though to be fair he is getting quite old...

That's pretty sad.  From the looks of it, he's had a very hard life, and most likely visited the Sugar Man in his past.  He'd be 70 something now.  I'd go to his concert just to be able to contribute something to him.

Interestingly, when I asked a range of family members if they remembered him from the late 70's and early 80's, none of them did.  Mind you, I didn't play his music to them, so that might have sparked something.  Nice that your dad has his old records!

[Trevor]

It was quite disgusting to see how defensive Clarence Avant was when the question of sales and money was raised.  If Rodriguez sold about 500,000 albums in South Africa, and they were sending the royalties back to Sussex Records, Rodriguez obviously never saw a cent of it.  A bit of Googling shows that Sussex Records was closed and sold by the IRS off due to unpaid taxes, which suggests further dodginess.

That idiot ruined the film a little for me: it is so obvious that he pocketed the money. When I saw it in the cinema, some of the people in the audience started grumbling and talking back to the screen when he began venting about South Africa.

Trevor, it sounds like you grew up in the time and environment that Rodriguez was popular.  What was it like then?  Was the movie an accurate depiction of the social climate of the time?  Big props for you being an old work colleague of the archivist in the movie, too!

I was born and raised in what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) but my Mom's family was and still is here in South Africa so we came down here fairly often and I first heard the album Cold Fact when I was about eight: that would have been about 1975. My dad had to explain the lyrics of Sugarman to me, telling me that Rodriguez wasn't singing about jerseys, Coca-Cola and his girlfriend.  

As regards the depiction of the social climate, there the film falls flat on its' backside. The inference is made that these songs defeated apartheid, which is total BS. Censorship was rampant in South Africa at the time, television was banned, films, newspapers, magazines and books were censored or banned and Lord help you if you were caught with an adult magazine! What these songs did do was to give people a release from all the censorship nonsense of the day and allow them to be free in their own minds at least.  

The lady in the film that shows the director the censored album is a longtime colleague of mine.  

[Trevor]

A friend went and saw his concert in Melbourne last week and said he had to be led onto stage, was quite often out of time with the music and had to practice each song briefly before they played, so it was an underwhelming concert.  Though to be fair he is getting quite old...

I've read that Mr Rodriguez has health problems, among which is glaucoma. 

[dean]

It was quite disgusting to see how defensive Clarence Avant was when the question of sales and money was raised.  If Rodriguez sold about 500,000 albums in South Africa, and they were sending the royalties back to Sussex Records, Rodriguez obviously never saw a cent of it.  A bit of Googling shows that Sussex Records was closed and sold by the IRS off due to unpaid taxes, which suggests further dodginess.

That idiot ruined the film a little for me: it is so obvious that he pocketed the money. When I saw it in the cinema, some of the people in the audience started grumbling and talking back to the screen when he began venting about South Africa. 

Trevor, it sounds like you grew up in the time and environment that Rodriguez was popular.  What was it like then?  Was the movie an accurate depiction of the social climate of the time?  Big props for you being an old work colleague of the archivist in the movie, too!

I was born and raised in what was then Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) but my Mom's family was and still is here in South Africa so we came down here fairly often and I first heard the album Cold Fact when I was about eight: that would have been about 1975. My dad had to explain the lyrics of Sugarman to me, telling me that Rodriguez wasn't singing about jerseys, Coca-Cola and his girlfriend. 

As regards the depiction of the social climate, there the film falls flat on its' backside. The inference is made that these songs defeated apartheid, which is total BS. Censorship was rampant in South Africa at the time, television was banned, films, newspapers, magazines and books were censored or banned and Lord help you if you were caught with an adult magazine! What these songs did do was to give people a release from all the censorship nonsense of the day and allow them to be free in their own minds at least. 

The lady in the film that shows the director the censored album is a longtime colleague of mine. 

Whilst they did make a bit too much mention of it for my liking [and I'm possibly remembering it wrong] but I don't seem to remember them making a huge song and dance over his music 'defeating apartheid' but more that it really influenced the musicians of the day in showing that they could sing about political topics that skirted around the censor boards, and of course South Africa being South Africa, apartheid was a pretty big one to sing about. 

Also interesting that you mention glaucoma, that would no doubt explain the need to practice a few chords before hand.  Sad to hear...

[Trevor]

Whilst they did make a bit too much mention of it for my liking [and I'm possibly remembering it wrong] but I don't seem to remember them making a huge song and dance over his music 'defeating apartheid' but more that it really influenced the musicians of the day in showing that they could sing about political topics that skirted around the censor boards, and of course South Africa being South Africa, apartheid was a pretty big one to sing about. 

In those days, if you wanted to present a message movie or song, you had to sugarcoat it, as in the case of the film KATRINA which condemned apartheid laws in the form of a love story. Those that instituted those same laws ended up applauding the movie instead of banning the thing. 

Also interesting that you mention glaucoma, that would no doubt explain the need to practice a few chords before hand.  Sad to hear...

At least Mr R knows that his music is timeless and that it has touched and continues to touch many lives, as it did mine. 

[BumbleGut]

I heard this movie was awesome.  What is the name of the musician again?  What are his most famous songs?  Thanks guys.

[Trevor]

I heard this movie was awesome.  What is the name of the musician again?  What are his most famous songs?  Thanks guys.

Please see the film if you can.

His name is Sixto Diaz Rodriguez and he's from Detroit. Almost all of his songs are famous, such as Sugarman, and I Wonder. A true child of the 60s and a great guy: very humble too.  

More info at www.sugarman.org.

[messedup]

Watched it a couple of days ago. Really interesting stuff. Made me listen to his music since then.
Anyone ever find out where the money his CDs made in South Africa went?

[Trevor]

Watched it a couple of days ago. Really interesting stuff. Made me listen to his music since then.
Anyone ever find out where the money his CDs made in South Africa went?

The research done by the filmmakers shows the SA record companies back in the 1970s sent the money to Sussex Records (and they could prove it) and after that, the trail goes cold. I think the royalties wound up in someone's back pocket.

[Archivist]

Given how defensive Clarence Avant was when asked about the money, it wouldn't be hard to make a guess as to whose back pocket it inhabited.

I still love this movie.  Bought the DVD and CD as soon as they became available in Australia.

[Trevor]

I screened this for Mom a few months back and she said that while she was proud of the small (very) part I had in it, she didn't care for the film as "people were talking all the time and no one was acting".

It was then that I realized Mom had never seen a documentary before.... 

[Archivist]

I screened this for Mom a few months back and she said that while she was proud of the small (very) part I had in it, she didn't care for the film as "people were talking all the time and no one was acting".

It was then that I realized Mom had never seen a documentary before.... 

Wow.  It's very surprising that someone has never seen a doco!  Very surprising!  She's obviously got a lot of catching up to do, now!  I trust you will take her education seriously!   

[Trevor]

Wow.  It's very surprising that someone has never seen a doco!  Very surprising!  She's obviously got a lot of catching up to do, now!  I trust you will take her education seriously!   

I shall tell her you said so. 

My parents are actually the people that gave me an education in films: they took me to see my first movie when I was seven. That was forty years ago.