Everyday Creation
This show has to do with different kinds of creation: human, divine, and a third kind that connects the two. Our human creativity is easy to talk about because clearly we're prolific creators. We make music, we write, we cook; we establish businesses, we design gardens, we invent things. The list goes on and on. Another kind of creation is divine. We feel its presence when, for example, we contemplate birth, death, our life purpose, or have a quiet realization that there's something bigger than us. The third kind is perhaps a little more difficult to grasp and yet, with a little practice, it's easy to put into action. This is the personal power each of us has to direct our thoughts, words and actions every day toward what we want in our life and world, rather than what we don't want.
This sounds heavier than it is. For me, this show is an acknowledgment that while we're all here to learn and grow and do our best, there's still plenty of opportunity to relax, laugh, love, and enjoy this playground we call life. So my hope is that you'll get some enjoyment and illumination out of these episodes. Here you'll find interviews with delightfully creative individuals; short stories about some who have passed away; and essays about personal power.
I'm Kate Jones, host and creator of Everyday Creation. Thank you for following my show.
Everyday Creation
Tribute to Sixto Rodriguez, featuring Sheldon Zoldan
Singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez was the subject of the 2012 Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man.” His tribute is one of 44 short yet illuminating episodes about significant figures in the music industry who passed away in 2023.
To hear "Sugar Man," you can go to this video, and you may want to check out the comments too. They're quite heartfelt. The picture in the chapters of this episode is the cover of the DVD of the documentary.
Also in the chapters, you can go right to the tribute by skipping my intro; feel free to skip my closing remarks too. Both are there to provide context for those who haven't listened to the other tributes.
My guest Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime writer and newspaper editor, wrote these tributes and recorded them. He also writes Song of the Day, a music-related story sent daily to an email list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
Audio engineer/musician Mike Villegas edited all the audio for this series. Hope you enjoy these intriguing glimpses into the lives of the people who made some of the music we love.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
Kate:
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Hello, and welcome to Everyday Creation. This is
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your host, Kate Jones, with one of 44
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tributes
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to significant figures in the music industry
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who passed away in 2023.
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My guest Sheldon Zoldan,
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a longtime writer and newspaper editor,
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wrote these short biographies
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and recorded them.
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Each one is an intriguing
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glimpse into the life and impact
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of someone who contributed
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to the soundtracks of our lives. Here's what
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Sheldon has to say in this tribute.
Sheldon:
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Sixto Rodriguez's
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death would have gone unnoticed in the United
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States
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had it not been for the Oscar-winning
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documentary
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"Searching for Sugar Man."
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The documentary told the story of the singer-
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songwriter's
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most unusual roadmap
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that took him from disappointment
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to obscurity
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to rediscovery.
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Rodriguez died August 8th.
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He was 81.
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Rodriguez grew up in Detroit. He was an
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admirer of Bob Dylan.
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He recorded his first single in 1967
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and then two albums
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in the first two years of the 1970s.
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Radio stations ignored them.
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Rodriguez quit the music business
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except for sometimes playing in bars
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and became a working stiff.
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He went back to school and graduated with
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a philosophy degree.
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He unsuccessfully
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ran for several offices.
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A strange thing was happening while he was
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living
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the life of a laborer.
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His music was being discovered in Australia,
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New Zealand and South Africa.
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He toured Australia in 1979
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and 1981.
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He didn't learn he was a cult figure
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in South Africa until his daughter, in 1997,
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discovered a website honoring him. He ended up
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playing sold-out concerts there.
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Then came the documentary
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in 2012
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about how two South African men went looking
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to find this mysterious man who was rumored
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to have committed suicide on stage.
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They found him in Detroit.
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So did American audiences.
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Our Song of the Day, "Sugar Man,"
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gave him his nickname.
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It was the first song on his first
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album.
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The song is about drugs.
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Sugar Man is the dealer.
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The song reminds people that the Sugar Man
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is not your friend.
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It was banned in South Africa because of
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the subject.
Kate:
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This is Kate again. Please go to the
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description for more information and to hear the
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song that Sheldon referenced.
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If you enjoyed this tribute, please check out
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the rest of them. Although some of the
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names are not as familiar as others, the
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biographies
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are equally intriguing.
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Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation.
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Please share this episode with anyone who might
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enjoy it.
