I had a wonderful day of shopping in Wilmington only to come home to read the sad news that Isaac Hayes had died. I guess this hit home more than some deaths because Isaac was from my hometown of Memphis. The Grammy and Oscar winner was found unconscious in his home, next to his treadmill that was still running according to a spokeman for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. The paramedics called to the scene tried to revive him, but he pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial hospital a little after 2:00 p.m.
Hayes started out his career as a session player at legendary Stax Records in Memphis. He and partner David Porter wrote a number of hit songs such as “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “Soul Man,” “When Something is Wrong with My Baby,” and “Hold On I’m Comin.” Hayes released his first album, titled Presenting Isaac Hayes, in 1967. His next release, 1969’s Hot Buttered Soul, went platinum.
However, it would be a soundtrack for a movie in 1971 that would put Hayes on the musical map. He composed the music for the blaxploitation movie Shaft. The “Theme from Shaft” spent two weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, making Hayes the first African American to receive that honor. It also won Hayes two Grammys that year for Best Original Score and Movie Theme. Hayes also won a third Grammy for his Shaft follow-up album Black Moses.
Hayes continued to release successful albums throughout the ‘70s, including the live double-album Live at Sahara Tahoe and Joy (which included a fifteen minute title track). He did two more soundtracks – for Three Tough Guys and Trucker Turner.
In the late ‘90s, Hayes began voicing the character of Chef for the show “South Park.” However, after the show did a skit that ridiculed his religion, Scientology, Hayes left the show. He also had a minor role in Stargate SG-1 (as Jaffa Tolok) and appeared in the film Hustle & Flow. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Man, first Bernie Mac, now Isaac Hayes – who is #3?