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Enigmatic singer-songwriter Sixto Diaz Rodriguez — commonly referred to as just Rodriguez — has died at 81. The Detroit musician whose slow boil rise to international acclaim was chronicled in the Oscar-winning 2012 documentary Searching for Sugar Man, died on Tuesday night (Aug. 8) according to a statement on his official website.
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“It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today,” read the note. “We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his daughters – Sandra, Eva and Regan – and to all his family.” According to the Detroit News, Rodriguez had been in declining health but at press time a cause of death had not been revealed.
The Dylan-esque folk singer recorded two albums in the early 1970s that were released to little notice, Cold Fact (1970) and Coming From Reality (1971), leading the aspiring troubadour to give up on his musical dream, start a family and pursue a philosophy degree as he unsuccessfully ran for a series of local poltical offices.
The News said after failed bids at mayor and state senate, Rodriguez could often be seen walking in Detroit’s Cass Corridor neighborhood with a guitar slung over his shoulder, with most onlookers unaware of his former musical aspirations. That changed in 1979 when he was invited to perform in Australia to celebrate the re-release of his albums; he toured there again in 1981. At the time, it was rumored that he had taken his life by shooting himself on stage (another false story claimed he’d died of a drug overdose) after releasing Coming From Reality on Detroit’s Sussex record label, a false report his absence only served to feed amid a bubbling popularity Down Under.
A decade later, he discovered that his music was even more influential in South Africa, where, unbeknownst to him, his psychedelic-tinged, wistful folk ruminations had become wildly popular among South African youth, who embraced them as anthems against the repressive, racist apartheid government. Though long retired from touring, Rodriguez booked some arena gigs in the nation in 1998 to rabid response and later saw his music re-discovered by artists such as DJ/producer David Holmes, who used Cold Shot‘s opening track, “Sugar Man” for his 2002 Come Get It, I Got It compilation alongside songs by Muddy Waters, The Staples Singers, Cyril Neville and Betty Adams. Nas sampled Rodriguez singing the chorus from “Sugar Man” on his 2001 Stillmatic song “You’re Da Man.”
The uptick in interest led to the re-issues of the albums and a world tour, a renaissance that was capped by the best documentary feature Oscar-winning 2012 film Searching for Sugar Man, which chronicled two fans’ journey to find out what happened to their favorite singer. In fact, it was those two Cape Town diehards, rock journalist Craig Bartholomew and Stephen “Sugar” Segerman, who would become the focus of the film thanks to their dogged search to find out what happened to their favorite musician.
“Like a lot of people here, I discovered Rodriguez while I was in the army, which every 18-year-old used to have to do,” Segerman told the Detroit paper in 2008. “He was on everyone’s cassette tapes. It’s great pop music. But you start to realize this is raw, brutally honest ― and that’s the chord it struck. I was in the army, but I didn’t want to be a soldier. I didn’t support apartheid. Raw, brutal honest had lots of appeal… I told him, ‘In South Africa, you’re bigger than Elvis.’”
Dave Matthews, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, met Rodriguez before playing Pine Knob in Clarkston, MI in 2022 and later praised him from the stage, telling the crowd that the singer was “one of my heroes growing up” in South Africa.
Rodriguez was born on July 10, 1942 in Detroit as the sixth child of Mexican immigrants. He began his career in 1967 with his debut single, “I’ll Slip Away,” followed by his signing to Sussex — a division of Buddah Records (Isley Brothers, Melanie, The Five Stairsteps) — which released his two albums.
His music earned comparisons to Dylan and Cat Stevens, who gentle 1970s folk anthems of love and understanding were tame compared to Rodriguez’s often more politically leaning lyrics. “Talking about the rich folks/ Rich folks have the same jokes/ And they park in basic places/ The priest is preaching/ From a shallow grave/ He counts his money/ Then he paints you saved,” he sang on the acid-tongue acoustic anthem “Rich Folks Hoax” from Cold Fact.
Both of his studio albums were re-issued by Light int he Attic in 2009 and the upswell in interest thanks to the film led him to perform with a full orchestra on The Late Show With David Letterman in 2012, as well as at the Coachella, Montreaux Jazz and Glastonbury festivals in 2013.
Listen to “Rich Folks Hoax” and watch Rodriguez on Letterman below.
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Two months after Daisy Jones & the Six actress Riley Keough was named the sole trustee of her late mother Lisa Marie Presley‘s estate, the star has opened up about the chaos that engulfed her world in the wake of her mother’s passing.
In a new Vanity Fair cover story, Elvis’ only grandchild addresses the swirl of headlines and drama that followed after Lisa Marie’s death on Jan. 12 at age 54 after a hospitalization following cardiac arrest.
“When my mom passed, there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives. Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us,” Keough said of the passing of Elvis’ only child; an autopsy determined that a complication Presley experienced following weight loss surgery several years ago that caused a small bowel obstruction was her cause of death.
“Everyone was in a bit of a panic to understand how we move forward, and it just took a minute to understand the details of the situation, because it’s complicated,” Keogh continued. “We are a family, but there’s also a huge business side of our family. So I think that there was clarity that needed to be had.”
Asked to confirm that that clarity has been achieved, Keough said, “clarity has been had.”
The settlement earlier this summer reportedly involved a $1 million payment to Priscilla and the reimbursement of $400,000 in legal fees.
Asked if things between Keough and her grandmother are totally smoothed out, the actress was a bit more guarded, but positive about the possibilities. “Things with Grandma will be happy. They’ve never not been happy,” she said, hesitating before describing the scene after her mother’s passing.
“There was a bit of upheaval, but now everything’s going to be how it was. She’s a beautiful woman, and she was a huge part of creating my grandfather’s legacy and Graceland,” she said of Priscilla. “It’s very important to her. He was the love of her life. Anything that would suggest otherwise in the press makes me sad because, at the end of the day, all she wants is to love and protect Graceland and the Presley family and the legacy. That’s her whole life. So it’s a big responsibility she has tried to take on. None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. She’s just been my grandma.”
As for the conflicting reports about whether Priscilla will be allowed to be buried at Graceland — where Elvis and his parents are interred — Keough said she doesn’t know why that’s even up for debate. “I don’t understand what the drama in the news was about. Yeah. If she wants to be, of course,” she said. “Sharing Graceland with the world was her idea from the start. I always had positive and beautiful memories and association with Graceland. Now, a lot of my family’s buried there, so it’s a place of great sadness at this point in my life.”
The interview also revealed the name of the child Keough welcoming privately via surrogate in August 2022, Tupelo Storm Smith-Petersen, whose first name is a nod to Elvis’ Mississippi birthplace. “It’s funny because we picked her name before the Elvis movie,” Keough says of the Oscar-winning Baz Luhrmann biopic starring Austin Butler as The King.
“I was like, ‘This is great because it’s not really a well-known word or name in relation to my family — it’s not like Memphis or something… Then when the Elvis movie came out, it was like, Tupelo this and Tupelo that. I was like, ‘Oh, no.’ But it’s fine.” The child’s middle name is a nod to her late brother, Benjamin Storm Keough, who died by suicide in July 2020 when he was 27; her brother is also buried at Graceland.
Dirty Heads return to No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart for the first time since 2010, as “Rescue Me” jumps from No. 4 to the top of the tally dated Aug. 12. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news It’s the California band’s first ruler since “Lay […]
Surely you didn’t think The 1975 singer Matty Healy wouldn’t address the band’s recent controversial set in Malaysia during their first gig back since that international incident? After all, it was Healy’s broadside against the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws — not to mention an onstage same-sex kiss with bassist Ross MacDonald — that got the band’s set cut short and led to the cancelation of the Good Vibes festival and Healy’s claim that his group is now banned from Kuala Lumpur.
Well, Healy took the matter head-on, kind of, during a typically raucous, unpredictable headlining slot at Lollapalooza in Chicago on Friday night (Aug. 4). Playing on the Bud Light Stage at the same time as Kendrick Lamar top-lined at the other end of the park, the band lit into the intro to “It’s Not Living If It’s Not With You,” during which Healy said, “You want my travel tip? Don’t go to…”
But he never got to finish his thought, because as the band often does during this wind-up, they cut Healy off before he could say something else that would get them into hot water.
At another point in the set that included runs through “Chocolate,” “Oh Caroline,” “Somebody Else” and “Love It If We Made It,” Healy again seemed to allude to his headline-making talents, joking, “What would we do without a little bit of drama, right?” before swigging from his ever-present flask.
The set had some other predictably unpredictable moments as well, as when during “Robbers,” Healy stole a moment to hop down off the stage to go hug one of his musical heroes after spotting him in the photo pit. Appearing gobsmacked by the sight, Healy scrambled down to give a surprised-looking Blink-182 singer-guitarist Tom DeLonge a giant hug. Even as he continued to sing the song — cradling both his mic and a cigarette in his right hand — Healy paused for a moment to tell Tom, “I love you so much, I love you so so much.”
DeLonge had also been in the same area a few hours earlier during 30 Seconds to Mars’ high-energy, death-defying set, during which singer and rock climber Jared Leto did a tethered free-fall from the top of the stage to gasps from the crowd.
After the song was over, Healy shared with the huge crowd how excited he was to meet one of his rock icons. “The person who inspired me to talk about my d–k as much as I do and I thank him for that forever,” he joked about DeLonge in a nod to Blink’s proud history of juvenile lyricism.
Lollapalooza soldiers on Saturday night (Aug. 5) with sets from Morgan Wade, Alex G, Pusha T, Odesza and Tomorrow X Together. The massive four-day fest winds down on Sunday night (Aug. 6) with music from Joey Bada$$, Alvvays, Lil Yachty, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lana Del Rey.
AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top” felt an appropriate choice of lights-down intro music for Metallica‘s concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday night (August 4) — the first show of the U.S. leg of the band’s M72 World Tour, and the first of two shows they’d play at the venue that weekend.
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After all, it’s now been 40 years since their debut album Kill ‘Em All first made them metal sensations. Though they’ve spent most of those four decades as gigantic rock stars, not many years in between have been particularly easy for the band, as they’ve dealt at length with death, alcoholism, in-band turmoil, repeat fan backlash and extremely public humiliation. But here they were, unquestionably at the top — as drummer Lars Ulrich later pointed out, performing in the round at the 80,000-cap MetLife marked the biggest venue they’d ever played in the New York area, and they’d be back doing so again on Sunday night — and their gratitude at being there (and being anywhere at all, really) was infectious throughout the night.
The band was likely feeling extra thankful to have an audience so willing to go along with their fascinating gambit for this particular tour: a risky “No Repeat Weekend” strategy that sees them play two nights at the same venue with two completely different setlists — meaning that each individual show is invariably lacking a handful of the usual musts. Fans with the time, willingness and (most importantly) money to make it out to East Rutherford for both of this weekend’s shows could afford to be zen about such things, but those in town for one night only could understandably be anxious about some of the big misses from Friday’s show. After all, can you really call it a Metallica concert if there’s no “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” no “One,” and — in Yankees country, no less — no “Enter Sandman”?
The answer, of course is “yes,” as became fairly clear early in the set. Many bands throughout history, even great ones, are too defined by their hits to stray from them in an average concert; Metallica can start off with three deep cuts (“Creeping Death” from Ride the Lightning, “Harvester of Sorrow” from …And Justice for All and “Holier Than Thou” from Metallica) and not feel like they’re reaching. Besides, even with over two hours to work with, the band’s songs are epic enough that there was only room for 16 of them; Metallica couldn’t hit all the big ones with that setlist length even if they tried. So it was pretty easy to let go of the idea of a la carte song ordering, and let Metallica’s omakase setlist do its thing.
And both the song selection and the performance was pretty impeccable throughout. It felt a privilege to get near 10 minutes each of both the spellbinding Master of Puppets instrumental chugger “Orion” and the underrated 21st century “Simple Man”-turned-“Free Bird” power ballad “The Day That Never Comes,” with the band — minus the occasional Lars aberration — in total lockstep, guitarist Kirk Hammett’s leads in particular sounding as explosive and radiant as ever. Even most of the material from the new 72 Seasons, which can feel a little flat on record, came alive in this setting — sounding more credible than ever as forgotten b-sides or second-side cuts from the band’s classic period. (“If Darkness Was a Son,” though, will likely always be a tough hang.)
But just as important than the specific songs and performances was the band’s good vibes throughout. You wouldn’t necessarily expect to be able to describe a Metallica concert — particularly one that starts with “Creeping Death” — as “life-affirming,” but that’s how it felt watching these guys cheesing up a storm, raving about their own picks (“I like that song!”) dodging gigantic beach balls onstage (dropped on the crowd during “Seek and Destroy”), even throwing an entire red Solo cup’s worth of picks into the crowd after the show. “We are so grateful to be up there kicking ass and celebrating life with you,” frontman James Hetfield raved. Bassist Robert Trujillo, who’s now been with the band a full two decades (and is basically the same age as the other members), still bounds with a sort of new-guy energy to him; he’s a great argument for why all veteran rock bands should add a brand new member — preferably one who’s been a longtime fan — halfway through their lifespan, to keep things from ever getting too stale.
The show closed with “Master of Puppets” — a signature song which, after three and a half decades of fan worship, also become the band’s unlikely first Hot 100 top 40 hit in nearly 15 years last summer. The most indelible image of the evening — in our section at least — was a series of four pre-teens in matching Metallica shirts losing their minds (and eventually their shirts) to “Master”; all members-in-training of the Hellfire Club, no doubt. One of the adults supervising them was also wearing a shirt with a Napster logo — seemingly as neither an ironic nor confrontational gesture, but rather just as a winking acknowledgment of how much water under the bridge band and audience share after 40 years.
The most emotional moment of the night, however, came earlier, as Hetfield acknowledged thanked the crowd for “remembering my birthday” — the frontman having turned 60 just on Thursday. “My seventh decade on the planet… I can’t believe it,” he rhapsodized from on stage. “Younger me would be saying, ‘You made it. You effing made it.’” Then, before launching into “Fade to Black” — from the band’s second album, and still one of the most vivid, heartbreaking, and still strangely empowering songs ever written about suicidal ideation — he reflected, “I’m glad I didn’t listen to my head when I was young.” It’s a long way to the top, but Hetfield and Metallica made a very good case on Friday for why getting there is worth the trip.
Setlist:
“Creeping Death”“Harvester of Sorrow”“Holier Than Thou”“King Nothing”“72 Seasons”“If Darkness Had a Son”“Fade to Black”“Shadows Follow”“Orion”“Nothing Else Matters”“Sad But True”“The Day That Never Comes”“Battery”“Fuel”“Seek and Desteroy”“Master of Puppets”
Streams and sales of Sinead O’Connor’s catalog vaulted following the Irish singer’s death on July 26, with many of her songs returning to the Billboard charts dated Aug. 5.
O’Connor’s catalog earned 7.9 million official on-demand U.S. streams in the July 21-27 tracking week, up 774% from 901,000 July 14-20, according to Luminate.
As for July 26-27 vs. July 24-25, O’Connor’s official on-demand U.S. song streams grew from 243,000 to 7.3 million, up 2,885%.
Additionally, downloads of her songs totaled 17,000 July 21-27, a 5,348% surge from a negligible amount July 14-20.
In terms of albums, O’Connor’s music earned 11,000 equivalent album units July 21-27, up 1,346% from 1,000 the week before. Of those 11,000 units, 4,000 were via album sales.
With consumption gains come multiple appearances on the Billboard charts for O’Connor, paced by her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which returns to the Rock Digital Song Sales and Alternative Digital Song Sales surveys at No. 1 with 10,000 downloads sold.
The song also accrued 3.2 million streams, which, combined with its sales, drive it onto the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs tally at No. 10 (where older songs are eligible to appear if in the top half and with a meaningful reason for their resurgences).
It’s the song’s second time on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (which began in 2009); it ranked at No. 16 on the May 14, 2016, chart with streaming and sales gains following Prince’s death.
“Nothing Compares 2 U” was O’Connor’s lone Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, reigning for four weeks in 1990.
O’Connor’s songs “Mandinka” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes” also reach Alternative Digital Song Sales, at Nos. 16 and 17, respectively, and Rock Digital Song Sales (Nos. 24 and 25), with approximately 1,000 downloads sold apiece. “The Emperor’s New Clothes” was O’Connor’s lone other entry on the Hot 100, as the follow-up to “Nothing Compares 2 U” reached No. 60 in 1990.
Further placements for O’Connor’s music are possible on the Aug. 12-dated Billboard charts following a full week of sales, streaming and airplay tracking (July 28-Aug. 3).
O’Connor died in London at age 56. A cause of death has not been announced.
It’s here! Just hours after announcing the collaboration, LE SSERAFIM unveiled the English version of its single “Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard’s Wife” featuring Demi Lovato on Friday (Aug. 4). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I see it written on your face, yeah/ I know you want a little […]
Matchbox Twenty’s classic hit “Push” revisits multiple Billboard charts dated Aug. 5, sparked by its synch – via its original version and Ryan Gosling‘s cover – in the new movie Barbie. Released in 1996, “Push” reaches the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs tally at No. 17. (Older songs are eligible to rank on the […]
Imagine being the son of a lauded WWE Hall of Famer and wanting to fill his iconic wrestling boots. That was once the story for Cody Rhodes — the son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes — whose gripping promos and electric matches with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and Lex Luger made him the standard in pro wrestling during the 1980s. Once grappling with the legacy and shadow of his late father, Cody is no longer chasing ghosts.
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Since his return to the WWE in 2022, Rhodes is arguably the company’s top star, courtesy of his charisma, in-ring prowess and captivating entrance theme, which doubles as a rallying cry for his audience. Created by the alternative rock band Downstait in 2016 during Rhodes’ departure from the WWE, “Kingdom” tells the story of the wrestler seeking fans’ support while on his road to greatness. Though Rhodes’ journey wasn’t the most glamorous, as he wrestled in gyms for hundreds of people during the early stretches of his indie run, he pushed forward in hopes of reestablishing his name and identity in the wrestling world.
By 2019, Rhodes flourished and became a ubiquitous star in the indie circuit, wrestling for companies such as Evolve Wrestling, Ring of Honor, TNA and New Japan Wrestling. After hosting a successful pay-per-view titled All-In with acclaimed indie wrestlers in 2018, Rhodes launched a new wrestling promotion titled AEW alongside Matt and Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega to rival WWE. Though Rhodes left the company in 2022 to return to his first home, his song “Kingdom” followed him after he and the band endured an excruciating battle with WWE over song rights and royalties. Today, “Kingdom” sits at a whopping 28 million plays on Spotify, and continues to be among the most popular themes in WWE, propelling Rhodes further into the hearts of the WWE Universe amid his quest for the championship.
Billboard spoke to Rhodes about “Kingdom,” his new Peacock documentary, American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes, his similarities to LeBron James and more.
When Downstait first made “Kingdom,” I read they were struggling financially and working regular jobs. How did his song eventually become a win not only for you, but for everyone involved?
It was so nice when I left WWE initially and I went into the unknown — I wanted to be prepared for it. I almost felt like I was drawing up blueprints for what I wanted my career to be like, now that I was my own boss and I was going to be in charge. And those guys, Downstait, have done music for WWE for years and they’ve done multiple themes of mine already, which I didn’t even know. There wasn’t that connection between the artists and the artists, I supposed. They were banging out banger themes left and right, but I contacted them and they were game to do it.
They put together lyrics that were kind of this rallying cry — because that’s the trick with sports entertainment and wrestling music. The song can be good, sure; it could be a good song, a good beat, a good melody, but it also has to be catchy. You gotta remember it. In the case of today, I’d say today that we have the catchiest of songs because, it creates this whole moment that happens multiple times throughout its play-through, with the “Whoas.”
But their journey, Downstait — you mentioned them going through it and the struggles — their journey mirrored my own. So for us to pair up, take it, and then for me to be so specific with everyone to the point [where] in plenty of meetings, people did not love how absolutely adamant I was about this being the song: This is the song. There’s no other song. Maybe one day, but this is the song and it goes everywhere I go. That’s just the way it gotta be — and I’m glad we stuck to our guns on that one, because those guys are great. They do music for tons of folks and they’ve made a very catchy song.
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Considering you’re near the apex of your career — I say near because I know that elusive belt is something you’re still chasing — are there any lyrics from “Kingdom” that still hit home and resonate with you today?
I think probably the No. 1 [thing] in the lyrics that resonates is the part about following you til the end — in terms of, I was asking fans when I left [WWE], flat out, “Hey, will you go with me?” Doesn’t mean you don’t watch WWE still, but will you go with me to Evolve in Joppa, Maryland in front of 400 people? Will you go with me to NorthEast wrestling? Will you go with me to All-Pro Wrestling? Because as much as these independents are in high-school gyms and in myriads of places, they’re streamed. You can get them, you can see them. I wanted to have fans ride with me. That’s why I created the list of the different opponents that I would want.
I think that following me until the end has become a genuine [feeling] for those who were onboard and for those who’s just getting onboard tomorrow, or today even. I’m gonna do everything I can to get to the finish — and then of course, who knows what happens after that? Because you mentioned being near the apex of my career — there’s really this one thing that I’m looking to tackle, and what will happen if we’re able to get that chip. But that line about following you until the end sticks with me, because I’m always looking at the people when I hear it in the speakers in the ring, and it’s a very real transaction that we have.
From “undesirable to undeniable” is a quote I always hear from announcer Corey Graves when describing your journey. At what point in your journey did you hit the undeniable chapter of your life?
I think probably when you can no longer say, “OK. He was disenfranchised and he didn’t like what he was doing, so he quit.” I think when you had to turn the narrative into, “no, he had a point,” was around the first All-In. When [wrestling columnist] Dave Meltzer said we couldn’t get 10,000 people in an arena and we got 11,236 in under an hour. We shut the site down, and there’s a plaque on the side of the arena. That was the one where you could no longer be denied — and what I tried to do after that was if anyone showed up then and there like, “no, no, this is a fluke,” I kept trying to put them through the goal post.
At that point, our industry really changed. If you ever interview any of the big wigs or the top brass behind the scenes, this might be the area where they don’t love my story — because it meant everyone had to get paid a lot more. I’m so glad I had Matt, Nick, and Kenny for that — because that’s something that’s pretty cool, whenever someone comes up to you and says, “Thank you. I got the biggest deal of my life because of this silly show you guys did and this gamble that you took.” That’s a very, very rewarding feeling that I never anticipated would ever come up in my career. But I think that that point was where the whole concept of “I will not be denied further” [came from]. It emboldened me.
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I see a similar storyline arc between you and LeBron in terms of starting your career at home, going elsewhere to find success and then coming back to where it all began. Am I crazy for drawing that comparison?
I can’t say that and here’s why: LeBron’s the GOAT, or if not, one of the GOATs. It’s LeBron. So I can’t just go like, “You know I see my story is a lot like LeBron James.” [Laughs.] For you to say it — I’ve thought the same thing about my time away very much. It was this needed thing where we were doing something unique and special. But then to be able to come back to what was your home and deliver. .. Not just come back for any other reason, but to come back and deliver, it’s very similar from that arc. So I’m happy to be discussed in the same vein as somebody like LeBron.
I think your finest promo was the one you cut with Paul Heyman earlier this year. Then, I think about your time at the Howard Fine acting school when you were younger. How much do you credit your skill-set in promos to your natural poise and charisma versus the acting classes you once took?
When I’m able to go out there, I always flip the mic. I flip it before I start talking. It almost feels like you’re this gun slinger when you have a mic, because that’s such a powerful thing, knowing you’re gonna tell [the fans] how you feel, why you need something and hope they’re in agreement with you. You’re gonna hope they find it entertaining or they have fun with it. All you’re doing is talking. There’s no wrestling going on in this ring, you’re talking in this ring.
I don’t know if it’s charisma. I feel like [my brother] Dustin got all my dad’s charisma. I don’t know if it’s Howard skills, because Howard skills are more about things that wouldn’t happen in your life. You’re really pretending. You’re acting — whereas what happens in the world of sports entertainment, where you’re in-between sport and entertainment, a lot of what I’m just saying is real.
The biggest part of why I’ve had success with promos and interviews is I prepare it like it’s a dissertation. I prepare that week before if I know I’m going to speak to them. [I’m] very, very in-depth about how I wanna deliver this message, because what I’m telling them is biographical. What I’m telling them is real to me.
You mentioned the Paul Heyman one, Mr. Heyman. That’s authentic. He gave my dad this job that changed the trajectory of my dad’s life. So as much as that problem with him and I exist, that is an area where I’ll always kind of nod my head and have a respect for [him]. I needed him to know it. He did not know that story until that show. I really needed him to know that this thing you did had a very, very large effect on my whole family. So to this day, I have a ton of respect for Mr. Heyman.
But I think with my promos and interviews, I think my preparations been key. I prepare heavily to speak to them. People complain sometimes that I use big words, but I never want to talk down to them. I feel like the sports entertainment wrestling audience is incredibly intelligent — and for some reason, maybe the stigma of the industry of old — some people don’t realize that, but that’s how I talk to them. We’re educated superstars and wrestlers in the ring and this is an educated audience. So I don’t dumb it down.
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Your first match in the WWE was against Randy Orton. If and when the Viper returns, what would a Cody Rhodes versus Randy Orton match look like?
It almost feels like it’s a first-time-ever match, because we wrestled against one another. We tagged together, we traveled together, but Randy arrived in WWE and was ready to go right out of the box. I have taken every piece of that little broken road that I’ve been on to really build what the American Nightmare is. Who I am when I step into the ring, and having that confidence, knowing my skillset, strengths and weaknesses. That’s why it comes across to me like this match never happened before, and I can only hope that Randy gets healthy and gets back to what he does — because he’s so, so, great at it. That would be quite a match. I think that’s one people are whispering about right now, and I feel both of us would be open to it, if not very open to it.
You were an incredible heel during your first run in the WWE. Because you’re the top babyface this time around, can you ever see yourself being a bad guy again, or do you think you’re stuck in this good guy role?
At the end of my AEW run, I felt we were doing heel — but apparently it wasn’t heel enough? Apparently, you have to say you’re a heel, and when you say you’re a heel, then you’re cool? So the definition of it was “the least cool, boo this guy out of the building.” That’s what I want out of my bad guys and bad girls, so I’m not stuck in it. I’ll say there’s probably less likely a chance of it happening, only because one thing I noticed, I’m really big on making eye contact with the audience. I noticed that my audience for me in particularly when you see the Nightmare shirt and the hat, it’s a lot of kids. That’s an important thing.
I don’t know if I’m a standard for them or anything of that nature, but if I even stand a chance of being someone that inspires them, I feel like I’m careful with screwing that up and letting them down. It felt like there was a spot in WWE after John [Cena] had left that maybe nobody was really filling and I don’t know why. But the youngest of our audience has really taken into what’s going on — which is funny, because if they watch this documentary, they might not even know about any of this stuff that even happened. They might just know the guy with the robe who says “Whoa” and the fireworks go off. But with them in mind, I don’t know if turning heel is as likely as it used to be.
American Nightmare: Becoming Cody Rhodes streams now and WWE SummerSlam streams August 5, only on Peacock.
San Francisco from 1965 to 1975 provided an extraordinarily fertile environment for the birth of such music acts as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin, Steve Miller, Santana and many more. Additionally, seminal festivals such as Monterey Pop, Altamont and Woodstock brought Bay Area musicians into the national forefront during that time.
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The rich scene is examined in San Francisco Sounds: A Place in Time, a two-part docuseries that airs Aug. 20 and Aug. 27 on MGM+.
The documentary comes from the same team that produced the three-time Emmy-nominated doc Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time of directors Alison Ellwood and Anoosh Tertzakian of Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions, the Kennedy/Marshall Company, Amblin Television and Jeff Pollack.
“Just like with Laurel Canyon, I personally lived through this extraordinary musical period of time and visited the San Francisco scene on a regular basis, so I’m very excited to be working again with the same amazing team we assembled to create the Laurel Canyon doc series,” said executive producer Frank Marshall in a previous statement.
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“We are thrilled to reveal a new perspective on this explosively creative and musical place in time through never-before-seen archival material and the personal stories of those who lived and breathed the San Francisco scene. People think they know what the ‘Summer of Love’ was all about, but the two-part film sheds both light and darkness on what really happened during the psychedelic renaissance,” co-directors Ellwood and Tertzakian said in a joint statement to Billboard.
In the premiere of the documentary’s trailer above, even a young Bob Dylan praises the Northern California scene, declaring that “Jefferson Airplane are playing at Fillmore Auditorium, and I would like to go if I could.” The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia chimes in on the scene as well, declaring it a peaceful one, even in the face of the Vietnam War: “We’re not thinking about any kind of power, revolution or war.”