Isaac Hayes

Isaac Lee Hayes (born August 20, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee) is an American soul singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, and actor. Hayes is best known as one of the creative forces behinds Stax Records, where he was both an in-house songwriter/producer and a recording artist. In addition to his work in popular music, Hayes has also written scores for several motion pictures as well. His best known film score, for the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft, earned Hayes an Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category) and two Grammy Awards. Hayes reveived a third Grammy for his 1971 album Black Moses. In 1992, Hayes was crowned an honorary king of Ghana's Ada district thanks to his humanitarian deeds. From 1997 to 2006, he voiced the character "Chef", a singing ladies' man and elementary school cook, on the animated sitcom South Park. He was the second-born child of Isaac Sr. and Eula Hayes, but after their deaths was raised by his grandparents. He grew up picking cotton in Covington, Tennessee. He dropped out of high school but earned his diploma at the age of 21. He began singing at the age of five at his local church. Soon after, he taught himself how to play the piano, electronic organ, flute, and saxophone. He began his recording career in the early 1960s, as a session player for various acts of the Memphis-based Stax Records and later writing a string of hit songs with songwriting partner David Porter, including "You Don't Know Like I Know", "Soul Man", "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", and "Hold On I'm Comin" for Sam and Dave. His own singing career took off with the album Hot Buttered Soul (1969). This album is noted for his image (shaven skulled, gold jewelry, sun glasses, etc) and his distinct sound (extended orchestral songs, heavy on organs, horns, and guitars, deep bass vocals, etc). Only four songs long, he re-interpreted "Walk On By" into a twelve-minute epic, "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" with an eight-minute long monologue before breaking into song, and the lone original number, the funky nearly ten minute tune "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquidalimystic", a significant break from the standard three minute soul/pop song format and singles-based albums. In early 1971 Hayes composed music for the soundtrack of the film Shaft (he also enjoyed a cameo as the bar tender of No Name Bar in the film). The title theme with its wah-wah guitar and multi-layered symphonic arrangement would become a worldwide hit single and spent two weeks at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 in November of that year. Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for a Motion Picture for the "Theme from Shaft" and was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score for Shaft. He was inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Isaac Hayes is the father of 12 children. He is also an outspoken Scientologist, frequently identified by Scientology as a success story. He has called Scientology the "gateway to eternity" and "the path to happiness and total spiritual freedom." On March 13, 2006, a statement was issued in Hayes' name, indicating that he was asking to be released from his contract with Comedy Central, citing recent episodes which satirized religious beliefs as being intolerant. I think his classic album is Hot Buttered Soul. Listen to it and see if you don't agree. Find out more about this musical icon at: http://www.isaachayes.com/

Research info provided by: www.wikipedia.org


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