It's been a long, strange road for singer-songwriter Rodriguez. In 1970, he released Cold Fact, an album examining inner-city American life in the '60s. But in light of poor album sales, Rodriguez gave up music and spent the next decade pursuing other interests.
His career was far from over. Rodriguez's two albums, Cold Fact and Coming From Reality, were becoming popular in Australia and South Africa, and his counterculture image and content became an influence to young South Africans in the military. Rodriguez briefly toured Australia, but by 1981 again gave up his dream. In 1998, his daughter found a South African fan site dedicated to Rodriguez, and he gave music another shot. After learning that his album had gone multi-platinum in South America, he embarked on a tour, selling out concerts across the country.
In this session with World Cafe, Rodriguez talks about his albums' reissue in the U.S., more than 30 years after their original release.
Copyright 2009 XPN