• Sixto Rodriguez has died aged 81 after suffering a stroke in February 
• The Detroit musician rose to fame in South Africa and had a career resurgence
• Documentary makers tracked him down to the US and helped him earn millions 

His website confirmed that he had died, saying in a statement: ‘It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today.

‘We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his daughters – Sandra, Eva and Regan – and to all his family. May His Dear Soul Rest In Peace.’

Sharing a photo of her father performing on stage, his daughter Regan said: ‘Love and music. Thank you for everything.’

The iconic musician only rose to fame in his 70s, after documentary makers from South Africa tracked him down.

His rise from obscurity saw him launched into international success decades after recording two albums in Detroit in the early 1970s.

‘Searching for Sugar Man’ documented Malik Bendjellou’s journey to finding the folk musician in 2012.

The film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards ceremony in 2013.

Rodriguez recorded Cold Fact and Coming from Reality in the US, and had given up hope of a music career after they flopped in the States.

He started a family, and gained a philosophy degree from Wayne State University, and unsuccessfully ran for mayor, city council and state senate.

The music icon was asked to perform in Australia in 1979 and 1981, telling the Detroit News he felt they were ‘strange flukes’.

His daughter Eva discovered websites dedicated to him in South Africa in 1997, which made wild claims he had shot himself on stage or suffered a drug overdose.

Super fans managed to get in touch with him, with one telling him ‘In South Africa, you’re bigger than Elvis’.

Rodriguez parents were Mexicans who emigrated to Michigan, and brought the musician up in Detroit’s inner city.

He began playing guitar in his teens, and issued a single as ‘Rod Riguez’ in 1967, with local label Impact Records.

The mysterious artist was discovered playing in a riverside bar called the Sewer, and was signed to Sussex, founded by former Motown Records chairman Clarence Avant.

He toured in South Africa, with further fame following him after his song Sugar Man was covered by Paolo Nutini and South African band Just Jinger.

In 2008 he re-released his albums, which spiked interest in his music and allowed him to tour again.

He memorably responded to one audience’s ecstatic applause by remarking, ‘Thanks for keeping me alive.’

But his success earned him millions after the documentary by Swedish filmmaker Bendjelloul – following years of working as a laborer for home renovation and restoration.