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Speaker 1: A poets, a guitarist, a singer, a musician, a man

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Speaker 1: of stature so adored in South Africa. That was a

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Speaker 1: snippet of the original Crucify Your Mind or Rodrigue's first

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Speaker 1: album called Fact, which came out before I was born

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Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy and I know for many people that

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Speaker 1: is the album, that's the one you probably know by heart.

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Speaker 1: I just want to comment, if you haven't listened to

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Speaker 1: the nineteen seventy one follow up coming from Reality, you

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Speaker 1: are missing out and you should make an effort to

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Speaker 1: go and look for it. While you're at it, though,

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Speaker 1: you can also explore the new album Essay for Rodriguez,

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Speaker 1: which sees some of our top local artists from ross

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Speaker 1: Lehmonth to carn Moreby to Doctor Victor and others covering

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Speaker 1: some of his most famous songs. It is a twenty

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Speaker 1: one track album and it also features Rodriguez's daughter Sandra,

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Speaker 1: who is joining us by a zoom from the USA

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Speaker 1: this afternoon. In Sandra, it's such a pleasure to have

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Speaker 1: you on the show. Thank you for I suspect getting

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Speaker 1: up quite early in the day on your side to

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Speaker 1: be with us this afternoon. And welcome to Cave Talk.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Pippa Hudson. It is my honor to be here.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, keep talk, Thank you South Africa and rock

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Speaker 2: and roll is twenty four hours, so it's never early.

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Speaker 1: I love it, Sada, I've got to say right back

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Speaker 1: at you. An honor and a thrill for me, one

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Speaker 1: of the greatest thrills of my career to have the

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Speaker 1: opportunity to interview your father when he was in South

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Speaker 1: Africa many years ago on tour. I still pinched myself

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Speaker 1: that I got that opportunity and that I got to

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Speaker 1: see him in concerts several times. He was such a

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Speaker 1: larger than life figure for those of us who grew

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Speaker 1: up listening to his music. Of course, for you, he

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Speaker 1: was dad first and foremost. Tell us a bit about

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Speaker 1: what he was like as a father.

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Speaker 2: Well, he's a wonderful father, and he did have a

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Speaker 2: very unique personality. He was a unique individual, and I

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Speaker 2: say there was nobody really like him. I spent fifty

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Speaker 2: eight years shoulder to shoulder with the man, and it

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Speaker 2: was an honor to learn from his wisdom every day

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Speaker 2: and to be in the industry with him. Heartbreaking is

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Speaker 2: it can be? He said, be prepared for disappointment, rejection

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Speaker 2: and criticism. If you're going to go into music, it

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Speaker 2: will be part of the landscape as well as what

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Speaker 2: happened to us in South Africa. That moment in time

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Speaker 2: where you made it and you find the acceptance and

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Speaker 2: the love I mean in your audience.

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Speaker 1: That came so late for him? Was he a all

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Speaker 1: bitter or angry about the fact that it played out

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Speaker 1: that way? That you know, if only he had known

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Speaker 1: sooner how much his music was loved and respected here,

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Speaker 1: what his life might have been like that would have

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Speaker 1: been different, or was it something you think he kind

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Speaker 1: have made peace with?

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Speaker 2: Well, Peppa he his exact words was, he was too

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Speaker 2: disappointed to be disappointed. He was very, very distraught about

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Speaker 2: not making it, but he continued, he said, We're going

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Speaker 2: to stick with music. And the reason why he worked

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Speaker 2: so very, very hard is a busy bee knows no sorrow,

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Speaker 2: he would say. So he would keep himself occupied with

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Speaker 2: physical labor, which works, and music works to help that

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Speaker 2: angst that we all feel from time to time.

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Speaker 1: Now, how much did your life change after the discovery that,

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Speaker 1: in fact, he had been selling albums by the bucket

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Speaker 1: load in this part of the world. That in fact,

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Speaker 1: his music had reached a substantial audience, had touched people's hearts,

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Speaker 1: that that poetry he had poured onto the page had

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Speaker 1: reached an audience. Sata, Can you describe for us what

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Speaker 1: it was like for him to have that moment of

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Speaker 1: recognition and for you, as his daughter, to see what

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Speaker 1: that meant to your father.

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Speaker 2: It was very much like a fairy tale like you

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Speaker 2: would see the or somebody winning a lottery, like that

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Speaker 2: same kind of elation, like you know, But for me

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Speaker 2: it was finally, finally, finally he made it. I knew

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Speaker 2: these songs were golden songs. I knew they were qualities songs.

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Speaker 2: I knew that they were wonderful, and for me, it

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Speaker 2: was finally, at last, It's about time, thank you, And

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Speaker 2: it was it was all that. It was just a

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Speaker 2: matter of time. And the technology helped, you know, the

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Speaker 2: library helped, the Billboard magazine helped us discover it, Okay,

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Speaker 2: and of course the documentary.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I do remember reading the story that your

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Speaker 1: dad didn't even step up to watch the Oscars when

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Speaker 1: that movie was named best documentary featured. Was I believe

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Speaker 1: you who actually phoned him to tell him, Dad, we've

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Speaker 1: just won an Oscar.

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Speaker 2: That is correct, and my sisters and I even Reagan,

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Speaker 2: we all wanted to go to the Oscars. My dad

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Speaker 2: said he was with his his fan base, he was

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Speaker 2: doing his shows and he didn't want to take any

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Speaker 2: of the shine away from Malick Benjulou's masterpiece, who my

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Speaker 2: dad gave Malick all the credit for that, you know,

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Speaker 2: even though the songs were fifty percent of the soundtrack

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Speaker 2: and it's Rodriguez's story, but you know, Rodriguez wanted Malack

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Speaker 2: to have his time.

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Speaker 1: And yeah, I mean thank Evans that he was recognized

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Speaker 1: in the way he was. So many listeners commenting on

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Speaker 1: our WhatsApp line about how magical that music is and

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Speaker 1: the memories that evokes for them, and Jill saying, my

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Speaker 1: brother discovered Rodriguez in the army and introduced me to

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Speaker 1: his music when he came home from teaching college for

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Speaker 1: a holiday. As old these we went to see him

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Speaker 1: together at Grand West and it was an unforgettable memory.

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Speaker 1: We were probably there the same night, Jill, and it

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Speaker 1: was unforgettable for me as well. I think I was

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Speaker 1: lucky enough to see him three times in the end,

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Speaker 1: which our treasure. But Sandra let's I mean, first, y,

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Speaker 1: the first thing to say before we talk about the

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Speaker 1: new album is of course to say condolences to you

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Speaker 1: and the rest of the family on losing your dad

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Speaker 1: in August of twenty twenty three. But at the same time,

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Speaker 1: how beautiful to have found a way to bring his

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Speaker 1: legacy to life with artists here in South Africa who

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Speaker 1: respect the musician that he was. Whose idea was it

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Speaker 1: to put together the tribute album that we Nazi being

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Speaker 1: released called Essay for Rodriguez.

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Speaker 2: Well, I would have to give that credit to Graham Sindel, Gillett,

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Speaker 2: guitarists that toured with Rodriguez, who adores Rodriguez, and we

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Speaker 2: want to keep Rodriguez's music to the forefront. So there's

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Speaker 2: almost twenty four other wonderful artists who all enjoy Rodriguez

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Speaker 2: and we're happy to do this album. So I want

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Speaker 2: to meet them all individually. I want to hear the

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Speaker 2: Rodriguez story. I always love hearing every Rodriguez story, the

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Speaker 2: way it touches people, the way it inspires them. So

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Speaker 2: South Africa does that. They share those stories, the military especially,

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Speaker 2: and I say peace on Earth, you know I want,

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Speaker 2: But they's a whole other story. But yeah, I do

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Speaker 2: know about the conscription and the soldiers. I've heard many

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Speaker 2: of those stories.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so in.

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Speaker 2: Both sides of the conflict, we're listening. So there you go,

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Speaker 2: we found a common ground with music.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we are talking to Sandra Rodriguez for anybody who's

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Speaker 1: coming into this interview halfway. Sandra is the daughter of

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Speaker 1: the late Rodriguez, the music star whose music we adored

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Speaker 1: in South Africa, the subject of the movie Searching for Sugarman,

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Speaker 1: which won an Oscar for Best Documentary, and now the

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Speaker 1: subject of a tribute album called Essay for Rodriguez Narsandra.

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Speaker 1: An ambitious project bringing together some of the biggest names

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Speaker 1: in our local music industry, but also including your dad's

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Speaker 1: own voice and your voice, because of course many listeners

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Speaker 1: will know you toured with him, You were on stage

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Speaker 1: with him as a vocalist all those years. Tell us

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Speaker 1: a little bit about how this album was made and

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Speaker 1: some of the challenges you had to overcome working with

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Speaker 1: that many artists probably scattered all over the globe.

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Speaker 2: That is true. All I flew to San Diego and

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Speaker 2: recorded there my portion of the song. You'd like to

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Speaker 2: admit it, and it's been released, and the other songs

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Speaker 2: were recorded individually by each of the artists and then

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Speaker 2: compiled into the compulation. So and videos as well were

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Speaker 2: shot and then SYNCD with the lyrics. Some recorded live,

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Speaker 2: and each did a different approach to get the recording.

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Speaker 1: What is your hope for the album, Sandra? I know

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Speaker 1: we can talk about the subject of the royalties because

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Speaker 1: I know that, for once, the right thing is being done,

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Speaker 1: and the artists who've been part of this project have

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Speaker 1: pledged the royalties to the Rodriguez family, So at least

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Speaker 1: that little piece of historical wrong is being righted in

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Speaker 1: a small way. But it's much much more than that.

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Speaker 1: What is your hope in terms of the audience this

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Speaker 1: album reaches and who it touches. I mean, there are

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Speaker 1: going to be a huge number of existing Rodriguez fans

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Speaker 1: who will want to buy it and listen to the

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Speaker 1: new interpretations of the songs. But do you hope that

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Speaker 1: this is also a way of introducing new fans to

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Speaker 1: father's work.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, I'm hopeful that it will introduce to a new audience.

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Speaker 2: I'm also hopefully that it'll redehrect him back to Rodriguez's originals.

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Speaker 2: Like songs often do when they're covered, you know, And

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Speaker 2: I hope it keeps Rodriguez alive forever, his music. And

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Speaker 2: he left me a very beautiful memories and that a treasure.

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Speaker 2: He left that music, so I can see him and

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Speaker 2: hear him. And I am the biggest Rodriguez fan of

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Speaker 2: anybody out there. I've always believed in my father. I

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Speaker 2: never doubted his talent where he belonged, what he deserved,

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Speaker 2: and it's always been, you know, rock and roll history,

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Speaker 2: and that's what he did, and that's what we did,

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Speaker 2: you know, because we did it together. And it was

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Speaker 2: upon his assistance that I got up there and did

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Speaker 2: those songs of mine. When he found out I wrote songs,

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Speaker 2: he said, you're going to get up there. You're going

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Speaker 2: to be my icebreaker. You're going to sing your songs.

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Speaker 2: So that he gave me the Moniker sk So somewhere

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Speaker 2: in his mind he believed in me as well. And I,

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Speaker 2: you know, did it for better or for worse. So

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Speaker 2: I'm happy to do music and sing anything.

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Speaker 1: Definitely for better in the version, in the opinion of

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Speaker 1: our listeners. I just want to share with you a

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Speaker 1: few more of the messages coming in Sandra Cathy's description

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Speaker 1: is that there has never been as amazing a poet

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Speaker 1: and musician, and as Rodriguez, a legend whose music will

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Speaker 1: last forever. Mark telling me I was sixteen years old

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Speaker 1: when I first listened to Cold Fact, and I still

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Speaker 1: love it. Well, I don't know how old you are

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Speaker 1: at the moment, Mark, but I can say I think

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Speaker 1: I was probably seventeen the first time somebody introduced me

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Speaker 1: to an Advarsity and it's still one of the most

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Speaker 1: played CDs in my collection, and I'm about to turn

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Speaker 1: fifty at a few months time. We also heard from Anita,

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Speaker 1: who says her children discovered her Rodriguez CDs when they

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Speaker 1: were teenagers and took them with them to university. She

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Speaker 1: says they've gone forever. Well, Anita, that's a great excuse

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Speaker 1: to go onto your nearest streaming platform and download the

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Speaker 1: new album Essay for Rodriguez. And while you're at it,

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Speaker 1: go and put a back order on a Cold, Fat

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Speaker 1: and Cold Fact and Coming from Reality as well. That

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Speaker 1: is definitely an album worth replacing if your children have

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Speaker 1: stolen it. In my view, Sandra, wonderful to have you

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Speaker 1: with us this afternoon. Thank you so much for making

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Speaker 1: the time to speak to us, but more importantly, thank

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Speaker 1: you so much for making this happen and being part

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Speaker 1: of this project to keep this wonderful music alive and

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Speaker 1: share it with a new generation of listeners. I'm so

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Speaker 1: thrilled that that is possible, and I'm so thrilled that,

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Speaker 1: even though it came so late in his musical career

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Speaker 1: and in his life, your dad did get to experience

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Speaker 1: the satisfaction of seeing people love his music and be

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Speaker 1: moved by his words. And I'm so glad that you

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Speaker 1: got to witness that as his daughter. Thank you for

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Speaker 1: joining us this afternoon.

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Speaker 2: Thank you kindly, Thank you to all listeners in to

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Speaker 2: keep Talk, and you Pipah, thank you