"Sugar Man" is a song written and recorded by

Sixto Rodriguez Sixto Diaz Rodríguez (July 10, 1942 – August 8, 2023), mononymously known as Rodríguez, was an American musician from Detroit, Michigan. Though his career was initially met with little fanfare in the United States, he found success in Sou ...

in August–September 1969 and released on his debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, ''

Cold Fact ''Cold Fact'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Rodriguez, released in the United States by Sussex Records in March 1970. The album sold poorly in the United States, but performed better in South Africa and Australia, with ...

'', in 1970. The song was banned by the South African government in the 1970s because of drug references in the lyrics, with records scratched to prevent radio airplay.

Covers

In 1998 the band Just Jinjer played the song in concert while supporting U2, and included a recording on their 2001 ''Greatest Hits'' album. In 2013, during their first-ever shows in South Africa, the birthplace of lead singer

Dave Matthews David John Matthews (born January 9, 1967) is an American musician and the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band (DMB). Matthews was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved frequently between South Africa, ...

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known as DMB) is an American rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The band's lineup consists of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, guitar), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), R ...

covered the song. They also included it on setlists throughout their 2014 Summer Tour. On June 21, 2022 at

Pine Knob Music Theatre Pine Knob Music Theatre (formerly DTE Energy Music Theatre) is an outdoor amphitheater located in Independence Township, Michigan, approximately northwest of Detroit. Built by the Nederlander Organization in the early 1970s, it is known as "Pine ...

, Matthews met Rodriguez for the first time, and covered the song again in his honor.

Samples

In 2001

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

sampled the song in "You're Da Man" on his album ''

Stillmatic ''Stillmatic'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on December 18, 2001, by Ill Will and Columbia Records. In contrast to his previous work's gangsta rap themes, the album contains socially conscious and philosophical them ...

''.

Remixes

David Holmes

In 2003 DJ and producer

Holmes Holmes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Holmes (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective * Holmes (given name), a list of people * Gordon Holmes, a penname used by Louis Trac ...

remixed the song for his album ''Come Get It I Got It''.

Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP

A remix of "Sugar Man" by Australian band

Yolanda Be Cool Yolanda Be Cool are an Australian music duo made up of Andrew Stanley and Matthew Handley. History In 2010, they collaborated with Australian producer DCUP (real name Duncan MacLennan) to release an international single " We No Speak Americano" ...

and producer DCUP was released on 28 November 2014 by Australian independent label Sweat It Out. The song peaked at number 15 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

and was certified platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

for shipments exceeding 70,000 copies.

Background

Following the success of "

We No Speak Americano "We No Speak Americano" is a song by Australian band Yolanda Be Cool and producer DCUP. It was released on the independent Australian label Sweat It Out on 27 February 2010. The song samples the 1956 Italian song "Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano" in ...

" in 2010, Matt Handley and Andrew Stanley (Yolanda Be Cool), and Duncan Maclennan (DCUP) found themselves in huge demand, travelling the world performing. Handley said, "We always intended to do more tunes together, but we just never seemed to be able to be in the same room for long enough. Then Duncan moved to Melbourne and for a while, I guess we just did our own thing." Maclennan takes up the story, "As much as we wanted to do more tunes together, apart from finding the time, we also knew that finding a sample with the same magic as 'Americano' was a must. We didn't want to just put out tunes for the sake of it. Fast forward to now, and it just felt right to get back in the studio. We had been passing sample ideas back and forth for a while and we all just fell in love with 'Sugar Man'. It felt right."

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Sugar Man" was first released on YouTube on 25 November 2014 with a total length of three minutes and fourteen seconds.Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP - "Sugar Man" [Official Video]
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YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Movies

* The 2006 film ''

Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

'' features the song. * The 2012 BAFTA and Academy Award winning documentary ''

Searching for Sugar Man ''Searching for Sugar Man'' is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, written and directed by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig ...

'' features the song and its name references the song.

References

{{Sixto Rodriguez 1970 songs 1970 singles 2014 singles Yolanda Be Cool songs DCUP songs Ultra Music singles Sussex Records singles Songs about drugs