Pioneering songwriter, producer and actor dead at 65.
Isaac Hayes, the groundbreaking soul and R&B composer and performer who won an Academy Award for his theme to the 1971 blaxploitation classic Shaft, was found dead Sunday at his Mempis, TN home. He was 65 years old. The cause of death is not immediately apparent.
Raised in poverty on the outskirts of Memphis, after playing in local bands Hayes found work as an in-house songwriter and producer at the city’s legendary STAX records label. Along with partner David Porter, he composed or produced hits for many of the label’s most famous artists, including “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Coming” for Sam and Dave and “B-A-B-Y” for Carla Thomas. Known as “The Soul Children,” Hayes and Porter would work on over 200 songs for various STAX artists such as Otis Redding, Booker T and the MG’s, and Johnnie Taylor.
But it was his second solo album as a performer, 1969’s Hot Buttered Soul, that gave Hayes his own breakthrough. Expansive in structure and embracing jazz, funk, and rock elements, the album established him as a creative force and demonstrated the versatility of the emerging soul music genre to a wider audience. Two years later, his soundtrack to Shaft produced a worldwide hit in its theme song and made Hayes the first African-American to win the Oscar in a non-acting category. Later that year he released Black Moses, another milestone in soul music. In 1975 he and STAX parted company in a dispute over royalty rights. By mid-decade he embraced the burgeoning disco genre, releasing albums such as Disco Connection and Juicy Fruit.
Hayes appeared in Shaft in a small role, but his lead performance in Truck Turner in 1974 started an acting career that would last until his death, including roles in films such as Escape From New York, Hustle & Flow, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights. His TV appearances included guest or recurring roles on The Rockford Files, Miami Vice, Stargate: SG-1, and dozens of others. But it was his role as Chef, the laid back cook on the animated South Park, that introduced Hayes to a new generation of fans. He appeared on the show for more than eight years, until objections over an episode lampooning Scientology caused him to abuptly leave in 2006.
Outside of South Park, Hayes’ fortunes remained mixed. A series of recording comebacks through the 1980s and 90s never gathered momentum; a nightclub adjacent to Memphis’ famed Beale Street failed to sustain business. But he continued working throughout: suffering a stroke in January 2006, he nevertheless appeared in a public service announcement for the nonprofit Youth For Human Rights International organization the following month. He was also active in the One campaign to fight AIDS and poverty.
At the time of his death Hayes was working both on a new album and had appeared in a new feature film titled Soul Men, co-starring Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson. He is survived by his twelve children, fourteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. By way of tribute to his life and works, the following video shows him performing the “Theme From Shaft” at STAX’s legendary 1973 Wattstax concert showcase.
