The 1970s were amazing years for music. Lots of bands and singers from that decade are still famous today. But sometimes talent isn’t appreciated in its own time and place. This is the story of one musician and his lost years.
Reading & speaking 1 WaRM Up look at the title and the photos. What do you think the article is about?
2 Read the article. Circle t (true) or P F (False). 1 Sixto Rodriguez was very famous in the USA in the 1970s. T / F 2 He recorded two heavy metal albums. T / F 3 He sold 500,000 copies of his albums in South Africa but he didn’t know. T / F 4 Rodriguez received lots of money for the South African sales. T / F 5 Stephen and Craig found Rodriguez in South Africa. T / F 6 Rodriguez’s daughter saw their website and contacted Stephen and Craig. T / F 7 A Swedish film maker made a documentary about Rodriguez in the 1990s. T / F 8 He performed in South Africa after he met Stephen and Craig. T / F
Sixto Rodriguez was an American singersongwriter from an immigrant Mexican family. He lived in the car-making city of Detroit. Rodriguez recorded two folk-rock albums in 1970 and 1971, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality. He sang poetic songs about prejudice and injustice, and his producers thought he could be famous like Bob Dylan. Unfortunately, his albums didn’t sell very well in the USA, and he eventually gave up his musical career. But Rodriguez was famous in another part of the world – and he didn’t know! In South Africa, he was more popular than The Rolling Stones and his albums sold 500,000 copies. For South Africans, Rodriguez was a pop music icon and his songs were an inspiration for the anti-apartheid struggle. But his fans didn’t know where he was. Many believed he was dead. And why didn’t Rodriguez know about this success? Because he didn’t receive any money from his record sales! In the 1990s, two South African fans decided to look for Rodriguez and find out more about him. Stephen ‘Sugar’ Segerman, a record shop manager, and Craig Bartholemew-Strydom, a music journalist, created a website dedicated to him. Then, in 1997, Rodriguez’s daughter Eva saw the website and got in touch. They found out he was alive and still in Detroit. Finally Stephen and Craig met their hero. Years later, Swedish film-maker Malik Bendjelloul met the two fans. He listened to their story and in 2012
3 Read the article again and complete the timeline.
Cape Town
made a documentary about their search. The film was called Searching for Sugar Man and it won an Oscar. So what did Rodriguez do in those lost years? He sang in bars, did manual work so his daughters could have an education, got involved in local politics, and in 1981 got a degree in philosophy. He also had some success as a singer in Australia and New Zealand and he toured there in 1979 and 1981. After his rediscovery in 1998, Rodriguez went to South Africa and did a sell-out concert tour to enthusiastic crowds. In 2013, after the film came out, a compilation of his songs sold well around the world. Although he is now in his 70s, Rodriguez is finally playing in the USA. It’s never too late to shine!
1972–1976
1979–1981
1981
1997 (April)
1997 (September)
1998
2012
2013
Rodriguez was born
He recorded ________ albums
He become famous in 2 _____________
He toured _______________ _______________
He got a degree in ______________
Craig and ___________ created Great Rodriguez Hunt website
________ wrote ‘Rodriguez is my father! I’m serious!’
Rodriguez did a concert tour of 7 _______________
A film-maker made a 8 _______________
The film won an 9 __________
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4 Work in groups. Discuss the story of Rodriguez. What did you think?
• What do you think his music is like now?
wo
• Do you like music from the 1970s?
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Sk ills
5
3
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5 Read Word expander. Underline three multi-word verbs in the article and guess what they mean. Word
lti-word ExpandEr mu s
Some common verbs have a verb + preposition and the meaning is different from the main verb. He eventually gave up his musical career. = He stopped his musical career.
Lo Skills forum di ogni modulo riutilizza le strutture linguistiche incontrate nel modulo in questione ed anche in quelli precedenti, proponendo nuovi risvolti del tema. Ogni modulo prevede una lezione incentrata sullo sviluppo delle quattro abilità. Le skills sono integrate per mezzo di un
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MOTIVATING A ND APPEALING TOPICS
Listening & writing 6 CD2.37 listen to people talking about their P first concerts and make notes.
verb
ord r
N LIS ATIO
• Why do you think he was popular in South Africa?
SURE Elementary
Welcome to
1970–1971
• What was the most surprising / moving / interesting part of the story?
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“In South Africa, he was more popular than The Rolling Stones...”
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A PERSON
4
for Rodriguez
Who Where When How old Who with Opinion
Jayne
Liam
My first gig Sylvie
7 COMpetenCe ZOne Write about a musician, P band or singer that you admire. Find out information on the internet. Make a note of: • Name • Date of birth • Nationality • Life events • Music genre • Important albums • Why you like them
MINI PROJECTS REALLY STRE TCH STUDENTS
✜ ACTION POINT Using the Internet When you do research on the Internet, don’t copy chunks of text. Read the articles and make notes of the information. Then use your own words to write your text.
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collegamento tematico tra un brano di reading e un’attività di listening (comprensione), seguiti da esercizi di speaking e writing (produzione). Le tipologie degli esercizi proposti sono funzionali alla preparazione per le certificazioni internazionali sin dalle prime unità.
SURE Elementary
INTEGRATED SKILLS
Searching
Lost in music
Skills forum
4T
Skills forum
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