Rodriguez - I Wonder

Rodriguez - I Wonder
Although Rodriguez remained relatively unknown in his home country, by the mid-1970s his albums were starting to gain significant airplay in Australia, Botswana, New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

When imported copies of his Sussex albums were sold out, an Australian record label, Blue Goose Music, bought the Australian rights to his recordings. Blue Goose released his two studio albums as well as a compilation album, At His Best, that featured unreleased recordings from 1973 – "Can't Get Away", "I'll Slip Away" (a re-recording of his first single), and "Street Boy".

At His Best went platinum in South Africa, which at one stage was the major disc-press source of his music to the rest of the world. He was compared to contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Cat Stevens. Some of his songs served as anti-Apartheid anthems in South Africa,[14] where his work influenced musicians protesting against the government. Reportedly, anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko was a Rodriguez fan.[15]

Rodriguez was also successful in Australia and performed two concert tours across the country in 1979 and 1981.[16]

In 1991, both of his albums were released on CD in South Africa for the first time, which helped preserve his fame. However, few details of his life were known to his fans and it was rumored that he had killed himself during a concert in the 1970s.

Despite his success abroad, Rodriguez's fame in South Africa had remained unknown to him until 1997 when his eldest daughter came across a website dedicated to him.[17] After contacting the website and learning of his fame in the country, Rodriguez went on his first South African tour, playing six concerts before thousands of fans. A documentary, Dead Men Don't Tour: Rodriguez in South Africa 1998, was screened on SABC TV in 2001. He also performed in Sweden before returning to South Africa in 2001 and 2005.