Sixto Diaz Rodriguez is a first-generation American folk singer of Mexican descent born in Detroit in 1942. He was the archetypal folk-singer with a guitar and first came to prominence doing the festival and hippy circuits of the mid to late 60s. His style reveals a Donovan-like approach to songwriting and his voice has shades of Nilsson in it with large doses of James Taylor. I think possibly, that they shared a style common at the time. Odd to think that singing styles are of a fashion but the more I think about it the more it does seem true.
He signed to Sussex Records (great name for a record label) and produced two albums in quick succession in 1970 and 1971. Sadly, his albums were not big successes and after persevering for a few years his label dropped him from their stable of stars and he packed in the music biz. However, the story doesn't end there. Unbeknownst to him, his songs were massive his in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. There were a few bands that "enjoyed" this secret success. I've heard it atrributed to the musical isolation of those country's musicians at that time. Certainly, if they wanted to make it big then musicians from that country would have had to move abroad to America or Britain. British stars did tour those countries but it wasn't necessarily top of an American folk singer's list of gigs. I digress.
Buoyed by renewed sales of his back catalogue following a re-release from an Australian publishers, he re-entered the world of music and had several Antipodean tours culminating in a farewell gig supporting Midnight Oil, the iconic Aussie protest band. He retired for good (or so he thought) in the early 80s and incredibly in the very late 90s his daughter discovered that Sixto had an almost cult status in South Africa where record sales continued to do well. So Sixto packed up his bags and started touring again. Nowadays success seems to be less transient and he has recorded a third album together with documentaries charting his very unique success(es) and his music has appeared on film scores too.
I like Sixto's music. There's a slightly dated feel to it but I can go with that. He has a very West Coast sound even though he comes from the other side of the States (I guess that's his roots coming through) and there's some very catchy tunes there. He's always had a political conscience with his music and his back catalogue shows this fully. Check out the tune below 'Cause' to see. If you want to discover Rodriguez for yourself then I'd recommend his first album, 'Cold Fact'. It's a delightful album, it really is.
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