This was originally posted 18 years ago. Opinions, facts and reality may have changed.
House writer at Stax. Responsible (with David Porter) for “Soul Man” and “Hold On I’m Coming. Part of the in-house backing band, alongside Booker T and the MGs.
For many people that would be enough to ensure immortality. But Isaac Hayes did much more.
He produced one of *the* greatest soul albums of all time – “Hot Buttered Soul” – which managed to only fit four songs into its 45 minutes. But what songs they were.
“Walk on by” became a 12 minute groove that explored emotions the original only suggested and “By the time I get to Phoenix” stretched to almost 20 minutes – with an eight minute monologue! – and sounded like nothing heard before or since.
Whilst Phil Spector was creating “little symphonies for the kids”, Hayes was creating them for lovers; of both the physical and the musical variety.
And then came “Shaft” – one of those rare occasions where the music is better known than the film perhaps? Many people could tell you Richard Roundtree played the eponymous private eye – but almost everybody could hum you the theme tune.
The late 70s and 80s were, comparatively, lean times for Hayes – but he still did more than most of us will in a lifetime: acting in The Rockford Files, Escape from New York, The A Team and Miami Vice; fathering 12 children; buying and ‘losing’ a basketball team.
And then, in the 90s, he returned to the public consciousness, in the role of Chef in “South Park.” Unfortunately, it’s this role – and the comedy songs – for which he is best known to a generation. Their loss.
A row with “South Park” writers Matt Stone and Trey Parker over the show’s jokes about Scientology, of which Hayes was a member, saw him quit in 2006 but, by then, rumours abounded he’d suffered a stroke which impaired his speech and ended much of his public life anyway.
Found on the floor next to the treadmill in his Memphis home, Hayes was pronounced dead at 2.08pm local time today. Leaving behind a fantastic back catalogue that I for one will be going through tomorrow.
If you don’t own “Hot Buttered Soul” – buy it now. You’ll thank me.
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr: August 20 1942 – August 10 2008.