Rodriguez's Music Pays Tribute to Nelson Mandela: Famous Musician's Songwriting and Philosophy Inspired by Nelson Mandela's Freedom Fights and Reconciliation

Answering a question asked by a journalist over the lack of royalties Rodriguez has not received for over 40 years, he replied, "“Hate is too strong an emotion to waste on somebody you don’t like..."

You can purchase a copy of this ebook right here: Sixto Diaz Rodriguez's Philosophy: Rodriguez's eBook Guide to Happiness

Rodriguez writes and sings about some universal themes. Most importantly, he writes about the subjects any Detroiter or any resident of Michigan can relate to. He writes about the people who inhabit his surroundings. Just like Philip Levine's body of works, Rodriguez writes about the working-class Detroit and the motif of the heartland. Rodriguez's songs are timeless and insightful. They are about drugs, love, lust, power, human frailty, greed, the rich and poor, the cry of children, the oppressed and the oppressor. No wonder that his music made him as popular if not more popular than Elvis, Dylan, and the Beatles put together in places such as South Africa and Australia. Rodriguez is the true example of the man who is not recognized by his own people but is made hero in another culture or beyond his own borders. He is a genius. A giant. A superhero anywhere else but his own country.

Thanks to Steven Segerman (sugarman pronounced by some) and the South African fans!

Thanks to Malik Bendjelloul for Searching for Sugar Man!

The PDF copy of this ebook is available below:

Book Review

"Sixto Diaz Rodriguez’s Philosophy: Rodriguez’s eBook Guide to Happiness" is about the man, the legend, and the genius who was not aware of his Rock and Roll fame in other parts of the world. It is about Jesus Rodriguez. Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, the folk musician from Detroit, Michigan who has been given a rebirth thanks to the efforts of two South Africans who launched a search party to find out what happened to their favorite singer and song-writer. Rodriguez, as he prefers to be called now, produced two albums, Cold Fact and Coming From Reality, respectively in 1971 and 1972. They received rave reviews, but they did not sell enough copies. Bootleggers managed to take copies to South Africa and Australia where Rodriguez has had a huge following. He did not know about his popularity on those shores. He was busy demolishing and remodeling homes in the United States to make a living. Music was not paying his bills. The release of this movie/documentary "Searching for Sugar Man" was going to change things. As they say, the rest is just history.

Listening to the poetic tunes and great music of Rodriguez, one cannot help but make the comparison between Dylan, Donovan, Phil Ochs and Lou Reed, Jim Morrison, James Taylor, Nick Drake or Elvis. It may be time for the man to receive his public accolades and due! Rodriguez is the true legend!

For most white South Africans (Afrikaners) and black South Africans, Rodriguez was both a prophet and a messiah thanks to his music. Rodriguez's powerful lyrics of repression and protest caught up among the youth of South Africa which was under the apartheid regime.

Sample his music!

Extracts and Passages of the Oprah Winfrey's Eulogy for Rosa Parks

Oprah Winfrey's Eulogy For Rosa Parks

Oprah Winfrey's Eulogy for Rosa Parks

Reverend Braxton, family, friends, admirers, and this amazing choir:

I -- I feel it an honor to be here to come and say a final goodbye. I grew up in the South, and Rosa Parks was a hero to me long before I recognized and understood the power and impact that her life embodied. I remember my father telling me about this colored woman who had refused to give up her seat. And in my child's mind, I thought, "She must be really big." I thought she must be at least a hundred feet tall. I imagined her being stalwart and strong and carrying a shield to hold back the white folks. And then I grew up and had the esteemed honor of meeting her. And wasn't that a surprise. Here was this petite, almost delicate lady who was the personification of grace and goodness. And I thanked her then. I said, "Thank you," for myself and for every colored girl, every colored boy, who didn't have heroes who were celebrated. I thanked her then.

And after our first meeting I realized that God uses good people to do great things. And I'm here today to say a final thank you, Sister Rosa, for being a great woman who used your life to serve, to serve us all. That day that you refused to give up your seat on the bus, you, Sister Rosa, changed the trajectory of my life and the lives of so many other people in the world. I would not be standing here today nor standing where I stand every day had she not chosen to sit down. I know that. I know that. I know that. I know that, and I honor that. Had she not chosen to say we shall not -- we shall not be moved.

So I thank you again, Sister Rosa, for not only confronting the one white man who[se] seat you took, not only confronting the bus driver, not only for confronting the law, but for confronting history, a history that for 400 years said that you were not even worthy of a glance, certainly no consideration. I thank you for not moving.

And in that moment when you resolved to stay in that seat, you reclaimed your humanity and you gave us all back a piece of our own. I thank you for that. I thank you for acting without concern. I often thought about what that took, knowing the climate of the times and what could have happened to you, what it took to stay seated. You acted without concern for yourself and made life better for us all. We shall not be moved. I marvel at your will. I celebrate your strength to this day. And I am forever grateful, Sister Rosa, for your courage, your conviction. I owe you to succeed. I will not be moved.

Oprah Winfrey's Eulogy For Rosa Parks