VARIOUS: The subject of the documentary 'Searching for Sugarman' singer Rodriguez talks to Reuters on the red carpet at New York's Tribeca Film festival
Record ID:
220797
VARIOUS: The subject of the documentary 'Searching for Sugarman' singer Rodriguez talks to Reuters on the red carpet at New York's Tribeca Film festival
- Title: VARIOUS: The subject of the documentary 'Searching for Sugarman' singer Rodriguez talks to Reuters on the red carpet at New York's Tribeca Film festival
- Date: 25th April 2012
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 24, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) RODRIGUEZ, SUBJECT OF THE DOCUMENTARY, "SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN" SAYING: "Well that's the second part of it for me, yes. And I think it's an interesting situation for that to happen like that, because there's no blueprint for this music thing." RODRIGUEZ TALKING TO REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) RODRIGUEZ, SUBJECT OF THE DOCUMENTARY, "SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN" SAYING: "But there's reasons, I think through the Internet, through media that such a ... everybody's a phone booth now and a camera so, and now I think it's like they used to say, the pen is mightier than the sword, now I think the camera is pretty much mightier than the pen, so this kind of communication that's happening globally I think, as a result of all the principals involved, is quite something." DIRECTOR OF "SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN" MALIK BENDJELLOUL POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS PHOTOGRAPHERS BENDJELLOUL TALKING TO A REPORTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) MALIK BENDJELLOUL, DIRECTOR OF "SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN", SAYING: "In Cape Town one of the characters in the film told me the story and I was like, this the best story I ever heard in my life and ever will hear and I was like, this is, and I'm going to spend a few years on this, and I spent like five years." PHOTOGRAPHERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MALIK BENDJELLOUL, DIRECTOR OF "SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN", SAYING: "He's such a humble and beautiful man and he still has this voice when he sings and he's still very much the same. He sounds the same and you'd think that he would have become bitter of this life that he was actually a superstar for 30 years without knowing it, but he isn't."
- Embargoed: 10th May 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVADDSQ5CK3GDUKU80UZX4SOGIQB
- Story Text: Director Malik Bendjelloul and the mysterious subject of his documentary, "Searching for Sugarman" arrived on the red carpet on Tuesday (April 24) at New York's Tribeca Film Festival.
The film tells the story of an obscure, 1970s Detroit folk singer known as Rodriguez.
The documentary begins in South Africa where Rodriguez's song, "Sugar Man," was banned on the radio and he became an enigmatic, cult hero in the 1970s to a mostly white, liberal crowd spurred by his anti-establishment message in their questioning of apartheid.
Producers of his only two albums, "Cold Fact" and "Coming From Reality," considered Rodriguez better than Bob Dylan with his poetic lyrics protesting racial and economic inequality. He wrote about a hard life on the streets of Detroit.
Yet, after his two albums bombed in the U.S., Rodriguez faded into obscurity, never recording again nor knowing about his success in South Africa.
A record retailer in that country, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman termed him, "bigger than Elvis," and set about searching for the Mexican-American singer rumored to have shot himself or set himself afire on stage.
Talking to Reuters on the red carpet in New York on Tuesday, Rodriguez said that when he heard about his success in South Africa more than thirty years later, he was disappointed that he hadn't known all along.
"Now that I've had time to reflect on it, the music business is, you have to be ready for rejection, criticism and disappointment, so those kinds of things are pretty much built into any career and so with music, it's such. So, yeah, it was a disappointment to me then, but look at this, it's quite something to be here," said Rodriguez.
He said that when Segerman tracked him down and he toured South Africa to large, adoring audiences for the first time, it was an amazing experience.
"Well that's the second part of it for me, yes. And I think it's an interesting situation for that to happen like that, because there's no blueprint for this music thing."
Director Malik Bendjelloul said he heard about the story of Rodriguez's fame when he was traveling around the world looking for good documentary ideas.
"In Cape Town one of the characters in the film told me the story and I was like, this the best story I ever heard in my life and ever will hear and I was like, this is, and I'm going to spend a few years on this, and I spent like five years," said Malik.
Malik said that when he finally met and interviewed Rodriguez, he was impressed by his humility.
"He's such a humble and beautiful man and he still has this voice when he sings and he's still very much the same. He sounds the same and you'd think that he would have become bitter of this life that he was actually a superstar for 30 years without knowing it, but he isn't."
The humble singer, who is in his seventies, still lives a modest life in Detroit. He puts the spread of his music and story down to modern media tools.
"Everybody's a phone booth now and a camera so, and now I think it's like they used to say, the pen is mightier than the sword, now I think the camera is pretty much mightier than the pen, so this kind of communication that's happening globally I think, as a result of all the principals involved, is quite something," said Rodriguez.
"Searching for Sugarman" is set for release in U.S. theaters on July 27, 2012. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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