

This Detroit singer/songwriter first emerged in the ‘70s with two groovy, folky albums that made the most of his sonorous vocals and air of bemused detachment. His themes—the keen social conscience evinced in the bluesy swing of “Inner City Blues”, the anti-establishment bent of “Street Boy”—connected with fans in Australia and South Africa (where tracks like the breezy, soulful “I Wonder” became anti-Apartheid anthems), making the funk-folk troubadour a cult hero. In 2012, a documentary about Rodriguez's life introduced his wistful signature tune, “Sugar Man”, to a new generation.