For me, the journey of music discovery took a wonderful and unpredictable turn last weekend at a packed Masonic Temple Theater in Detroit featuring a local star that you may have never heard of.  Sixto Rodriguez, who described himself on stage as an “ordinary legend,” finally captured his deserved super star status – at the age of what he calls a “solid 70.”

You don’t know about Rodriguez?

If you didn’t see Searching For Sugarman, you missed something special – an Oscar-winning documentary film about a Detroit born musician who tried and failed to make his mark back in the early ‘70s.  After two disappointing albums, his career of writing and performing powerful songs about life and protest essentially came  to an end.

Except in South Africa where with a little luck and a lot of serendipity, he became a star in the ’70s, inspiring people of that country to rise up and really question their country, their politics, and their apartheid society.  His song, “I Wonder,” became an anthem for introspection, realization, and protest.  Sadly for Rodriguez, he had no idea he was selling hundreds of thousands of albums across the globe as he worked as a laborer in Southwest Detroit having thrown in the towel on his music career.

>EMAIL RECIPIENTS: CLICK HERE TO WATCH “I WONDER” VIDEO<

So rent the film.  And perhaps you’ll have a chance to see the enigmatic Rodriguez on an upcoming tour over the next year or so.  His voice isn’t what it was, but there is something even deeper and more authentic in his recent performances as “an overnight sensation.”

But the radio industry’s failure to discover the album Cold Fact four decades ago made me wonder just how many great stars we miss.  As I watched the film, I racked my brain to recall if I’d ever heard of Rodriguez during that time.  I wasn’t working in radio yet, but was deep into the music of that era.  I just cannot remember any inkling that I’d ever heard him on WABX, the progressive rock station of that time.

So for radio programmers, this movie may have an even deeper impact, because it’s a reminder of the ones we missed, the ones we overlooked, and the ones that got away.

Back in my PD days, I actually kept two lists in my top right hand drawer – the songs I didn’t play that went on to become hits and those I took a a chance on that never made it.  Programmers in that era had more control over what went out over the airwaves, but that didn’t make the job any easier.  Picking songs and artists the audience would embrace, while taking enough chances on new bands to make it interesting, is an art.  Judging the public taste is always precarious and very hit and miss.

In the case of Rodriguez, a listen to his only two albums is a trip back to another time and place when musicians from Dylan to the Beatles to Cat Stevens to Simon & Garfunkel did more than entertain.  Rodriguez should have been on that team, or at least a few seats down the bench.  To my ears, the music holds up well.  And a mark of any great concert (or Broadway production) is whether you walk out of the show with at least a couple of those songs in your head.  Rodriguez more than passed that test last weekend.

Amazingly, he’s not bitter – or doesn’t seem to be.  Rodriguez is enjoying his new-found success, jokes with the audience, and offers some sage and wizened advice in between songs.  And decades of obscurity never eradicated his rock star sensibilities.  He belongs on stage.  Better put, he’s always belonged on stage.

So why didn’t this guy make it the first time around?  And how many artists are in the same boat as Rodriguez, flailing away in the shadows, selling a few CDs on the streets and in small clubs, but failing to crack through and rise to their potential?

I wonder.

Photo: Detroit Free Press. To read Free Press writer Brian McCollum’s review of the Rodriguez Masonic show, click here.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Fred Jacobs

President & Founder at Jacobs Media

Fred Jacobs founded Jacobs Media in 1983, and quickly became known for the creation of the Classic Rock radio format.

Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.

In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.

Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.

Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.

Latest posts by Fred Jacobs (see all)

• Radio + Thanksgiving = Gratitude - November 27, 2024
• Is It Quittin’ Time For SiriusXM? - November 26, 2024
• Radio, It Oughta Be A Crime - November 25, 2024

Join the Official CES 2025 Tour in Las Vegas

It's the official tour of what's next! The Jacobs Media 2025 CES® Tour for Broadcasters