Sugar for Rodriguez

It took 40-plus years for Rodriguez to become an overnight sensation in America.

The Detroit musician has been working construction since the 1970s, when his recording career failed to take off in his home country.

Little did he realize he has been an icon in South Africa all these years – bigger than the Beatles or Elvis – with fantastic and premature reports of his death.

Everything changed with the indie film, “Searching for Sugar Man.”  

I stumbled across the movie this weekend, and now Rodriguez and Sugar Man are all I see and hear.

• Rave reviews are everywhere:RogerEbert.com; TheFasterTimes.com; The Guardian; and on and on
• His music, unobtainable for years, is online – HuffingtonPost.com – and, of course, for sale at places like Amazon.com
• He tweets: @sugar_man
• There's an official Rodriguez website
•  And he'll soon be appearing at a venue right here in Philadelphia: World Cafe Live

The music may be from another time, but it sounds fresh and new to these ears....and I understand why it's such a revered classic in South Africa.

Great story. Great movie. Great music. And a wonderful example of dedication and second chances.