He is probably best remembered today as the voice of "The Chef" on the animated series South Park. Earlier in his career, he won an Oscar for the Best Song of the Year for the “Theme from Shaft.”
Isaac Hayes was born on August 20, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee, a town about 40 miles north of Memphis. The stardom of Elvis Presley in the 1950s put Memphis on the musical map. In 1959, a new record company was born in Memphis. A young Isaac Hayes made some of his first recordings for the young label Stax Records with a group called Sir Isaac and the Doo-Dads.
The young keyboard player worked on several sessions with Otis Redding, who was one of Stax Records’ biggest stars in the 1960s. Then he teamed up with David Porter and began writing songs for the duo Sam and Dave. While he was still with Stax in Memphis, Isaac Hayes put himself back out front under his own name with an album called Presenting Isaac Hayes in 1967. But it wasn't until Hot Buttered Soul, his 1969 album, that he came to public attention as a major new soul star.
Hot Buttered Soul was revolutionary for Stax, which was used to the usual two-and-a-half-minute song format. The album version of “Walk On By” was over 12 minutes long. Isaac's version of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” came in at over 18 minutes.
Isaac Hayes had the biggest hit of his career with the “Theme from Shaft” in 1971. The Shaft soundtrack was his biggest album. Many hits followed, including “Joy,” “Don't Let Go”— Isaac's version of an old song by Roy Hamilton—and in 1986, “Ike's Rap.”
Isaac Hayes died at age 65 on August 10, 2008 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Listen above.
Recommended Listening
As an artist:
“Walk On By”
“Never Can Say Goodbye”
“Theme from Shaft”
“Do Your Thing”
“Joy”
As songwriter & producer with David Porter:
“Soul Man” by Sam & Dave
“I Thank You” by Sam & Dave
“B-A-B-Y” by Carla Thomas
“As Long As I've Got You” by The Charmels
“The Sweeter He Is” by The Soul Children
Deep cut:
“Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic” (from Hot Buttered Soul)
