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Sunday Times Cape Metro, 26th October 1997

Fan traces "lost" singer Rodriguez
by Bobby Jordan

A three-year quest to contact folk singer Sixto Rodriguez has ended in triumph for a Cape Town folk music fanatic who tracked him down in Detroit - and convinced him to tour South Africa next year. The 49-year-old singer (actually 55) - at one time rumoured to have died - leads a reclusive life in Detroit. He was so amazed to hear from Stephen "Sugar" Segerman of Cape Town that he agreed to tour South Africa next year. "He had simply disappeared," said Segerman, who took his nickname from a Rodriguez song, Sugar Man.

In March 1996, Segerman enlisted the help of a music detective who, after several months, contacted Rodriguez through the Internet. Rodriguez later phoned Segerman. "The line was clear, so we were able to have a calm conversation - although I was practically dropping the phone in excitement," said Segerman. Local Rodriguez music promoter Louis van Wyk said there was a "100 percent chance" the singer would tour South Africa. "When I spoke to (record company) Polygram they couldn't stop laughing because everyone there thought he was dead," Van Wyk said. Rumours of his death circulated after the release of Rodriguez's last album, After The Fact.

See the original newspaper clipping at The Great Rodriguez Website.