He has, perhaps, one of the most unique true stories of fleeting fame finally realised.
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, known only by his surname, was an American singer-songwriter from Detroit, Michigan.
He began performing in bars and clubs around the city of Detroit in the 1960s, and it was there that he recorded two studio albums, Cold Fact in 1967 and Coming from Reality in 1970.
Although Rodriguez' second album was recorded in London and released two years later with high hopes, both albums soon disappeared off the US radar, leaving his career finished before it had even started.
Rodriguez eventually turned his efforts elsewhere, earning a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Wayne State University, running for political office and working construction and factory jobs to support his family.
The singer was primarily invisible from the early '70s to the late '90s. Rumours of his disappearance turned to rumours that he had died by suicide – one story that he had lit himself on fire while performing on stage, and another that he had put a gun to his head.
A while later, a vinyl copy of Cold Facts found its way to South Africa and spread like wildfire.
By the mid-eighties, Rodriguez had become a household name in apartheid-era South African homes for his controversial and provocative lyrics.
His music had also become "a guiding light and inspiration to a generation of South African youth caught up in the apartheid-era army conscription and subsequent Southern African Border wars," writes South African record store owner Stephen "Sugar" Segerman.
His music had become popular, however, the man himself remained a mystery.
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