14 GROUNDCOVER NEWS SPOTLIGHT Sugar Man and the origins of SK Rodriguez TOMMY SPAGHETTI Groundcover vendor No. 669 Everybody knows Sugar Man right? If you don't know Sugar Man then perhaps you missed the greatest Cinderella story of the 21st century: Artist/ musician makes a record. Record flops. Record company drops Artist from label. Artist lives in relative obscurity 30+ years. Through an internet connection, Artist discovers they have millions of fans overseas. Artist travels to foreign country and receives a hero's welcome. Artist makes triumphant return home. Artist lives happily ever after. What I just described to you was documented in the 2014 Academy Award winning movie "Searching For Sugar Man," directed by Malik Bendjelloul. I have to mention Malik's name because without him this whole comeback story might have been missed. It is easy to identify with the artist Sixto Rodriguez (aka Sugarman), especially if you're in the music business or if you just like it when the underdog wins. Maybe it was better that Sugarman's album flopped commercially in the United States because it preserved his body for future use. We all know the down-side of overnight stardom: drug and alcohol use/abuse; fast living; overconsumption of food; sex and an early demise. The road after success is littered with youthful corpses, i.e., Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Belushi. Sugarman’s 1973 record album, Cold Facts, had music that was danceable but the lyrics were perhaps too honest for the average consumer. The song "I Wonder," while upbeat and danceable, pondered sex. Pondered Vietnam. Was written and composed in the early 70s vernacular. No wonder it didn’t sell well in the United States in the 1970s. The title track "Sugar Man" integrated marijuana, tolerated cocaine — two subjects the Motown Records subsidiary was not interested in promoting. Lets fast forward now to 2026 and we have Sandra Rodriguez carrying her father's legacy like an Olympic torch. The two imposters, Chance and Fate, lured us together. Necessity wrote the screenplay. I was looking for a band to hire for a variety show and after a brief phone conversation with Sandra Rodriguez, aka SK, it was clear that her experience was beyond my own. I gratefully relinquished my position and invited SK to produce our "In Loving Memory" show, a tribute concert to the late poet activist John Sinclair. (Wishing to avoid confusion I am calling Sugarman, "Rodriguez." And I am calling Sandra Rodriguez, "SK." That's how they are referred to locally by friends and family.) Collaborating with SK made me realize that I was in the presence of greatness and that I needed to conduct an interview with SK for Groundcover News in Ann Arbor, because Groundcover has a loyal readership. TS: How did you get the moniker SK? SK: The initials of my name Sandra Kennedy. Rodriguez first called me SK and I like it. TS: How did you get into singing as a career? SK: I wrote and copyrighted six songs. When Rodriguez learned about it he asked me to be his "ice breaker" and open his shows with my originals. My first performance was at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in front of 6000 people. TS: Wow! What year was that? SK: 2013. “Resurgent troubadour Rodriguez — the subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary, "Searching for Sugar Man" — is performing at Barclays Center on Wednesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. The concert at Cushman & Wakefield Theater at Barclays Center continues one of the most remarkable musical comebacks in recent memory on Rodriguez’s wildly popular U.S. tour itinerary. Support acts for Rodriguez will be Sandra Rodriguez, Susan Coswill and John Sinclair.” — A press release at the time. TS: Were you the "ice breaker" for all those shows in South Africa and Australia? SK: Yes all the shows in Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia — I have yet to perform in ZA, I just announced a tour, trying to make it there. TS: ZA? SK: Republic of South Africa TS: You were already in ZA. I saw "Searching for Sugar Man" movie poster about Sixto Rodriguez. you in the movie "Searching for Sugar Man." Was that before Barclays Center? SK stands in front of Detroit mural of her father, Sixto Rodriguez. FEBRUARY 6, 2026 TS: Yes, and South Africa was before my dad knew I wrote and sang and played songs. And the other time he toured I stayed in the United States and sent my daughters. They have been there several times, bless that man! TS: Are you excited about going to ZA? SK: About the possibility, yes. TS: Seems like a difficult thing to pull off. I would be nervous but you've been there before. You played four sold out shows in Australia in 2025. How do you stay relaxed while traveling such great distances and performing for large audiences? SK: I see it as a privilege and a pleasure and an honor to be there, and doing music is even more incredible! TS: Sandra, I wanna call you Sugarmomma. How do you feel about that? SK: Not interested in being called that. My name is SK. Or Sandra. By this time in our relationship SK and I had become friends. Unwittingly I got stranded on the east side of Detroit. I could’ve taken a city bus back home (13 miles) but I've already walked five miles and I'm worn out. Knowing SK lives somewhere on the east side I give her a call and she answers. The angels seem to be on my side so I press my luck. "SK. I'm stuck at 8 mile and Gratiot. Can you swoop me?" In just a few minutes SK arrives in a squeaky clean new-looking SUV. After I buckle the seatbelt SK tells me, "I wanna show you something ..." Wasting no time SK drives to the Cass Corridor stopping at not one, not two but three gigantic murals painted in Sugarman’s likeness. Each mural depicting Rodriguez in a different guitar pose. This is a drive-by mural tour so it doesn't take long to observe the murals. SK steers her SUV down an alley. We stop and SK gets out of the car. Unlocks and opens a huge wooden gate. We are now in a fairytale existence. Looking at a huge stately home in Wayne State University’s Woodbridge neighborhood. Sweeping my head from side to side I gaze at the perfect concrete, the manicured grass, the stockade fence offering neighborly privacy and foliage. "Imagine the shows we could put on here," states SK. "This porch could be the stage." SK unlocks the door and we enter the unoccupied house. "Rodriguez bought this house for $100 in the 1970s. It was his lifelong project." SK is giving me 'the nickel tour' starting on the first floor. The walls look freshly drywalled. No art adorns them. Sanded hardwood floors perfectly level. No furniture at all until we reach the second story. In the living room rests a polished black grand piano. Lifting the key cover I sit down to play a tune while SK walks around making sure the balcony windows and doors are firmly locked. "My sisters want to sell the house. It's listed for $325,000. I want to buy them out." SK leads me into the basement. There on the floor against the bricked wall are tools. Hammers, sledges, crowbars, saws, levels, all neatly aligned, perfectly spaced, like it's an exhibit at Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford Museum. From this evidence it's clear that Sixto Rodriguez was a master craftsman. This house is symbolic of Rodriguez's music career. Impressive and enduring. The three Rodriguez murals are not hyperbole. Rodriguez is remembered and loved by everyone around here.
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