@aslongastheresmusic: In 1970, a brilliant Detroit folk singer named Sixto Rodriguez released an album called Cold Fact. Despite having profound songwriting that rivaled Bob Dylan, the record sold absolutely nothing in the United States. Dropped by his label, Rodriguez quietly walked away from the music industry, spending the next three decades working manual labor and construction in Detroit, living a completely normal, working-class life. But what he didn't know was that a random bootleg copy of his album had somehow made its way across the ocean to South Africa. Cut off from the rest of the world due to international boycotts, South African youth obsessed over the record. Without the internet to verify anything, massive rumors began to swirl that he was a legendary, deceased rock star. His music became the literal soundtrack to the anti-apartheid movement. For almost 30 years, Rodriguez was bigger than Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones in South Africa, selling hundreds of thousands of records—and he had absolutely no idea. It wasn't until the late 1990s that devoted fans finally tracked him down, discovering their mythical rock god was just a humble construction worker in Detroit, leading to one of the most incredible, triumphant comeback tours in music history. Welcome to Part 3 of my series: The Weirdest Lore in Music History. 🌍🎸 What bizarre forgotten piece of music history should I cover next? #SixtoRodriguez #SearchingForSugarMan #MusicHistory #WeirdHistory #FolkMusic

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Saturday 17 October 2026 20:34:39 GMT