Though his last big hits on the charts ended in the 1980s, Hayes' presence in contemporary music continued as his songs were sampled on numerous hits by rap and R&B performers, ranging from Ashanti to Public Enemy to Jay-Z.
"The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence," he said. "And they'll tell you if you ask."
Stanback said: "A lot of artists owe Isaac his career because a lot of music was based on his foundation."
He garnered another audience and cult following with his work on "South Park." A school cook, Chef was in many ways the voice of reason in the otherwise outrageous animated social commentary, unwittingly imparting pearls of wisdom on the schoolboys who often came to him with their dilemmas; this, in spite of the fact that his foremost devotion was — true to Hayes' music and persona — being a ladies' man.
In the 1999 interview, Hayes described the character as "a person that speaks his mind; he's sensitive enough to care for children; he's wise enough to not be put into the 'wack' category like everybody else in town — and he l-o-o-o-o-ves the ladies."
But Hayes angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked his Scientology religion. "There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins," he said.
Co-creator creators Matt Stone responded that Hayes "has no problem — and he's cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians." A subsequent episode of the show seemingly killed off the Chef character.
Hayes remained active in entertainment, even as he became a senior citizen. His Web site listed upcoming appearances and he was making plans for his Stax album. Stanback said it was to include Hayes' work on vintage tracks that he had left unfinished over the years.
"We were actually getting ready to schedule a trip to Memphis to talk to Isaac," he said.
Stanback called his death a tragedy.
"Isaac Hayes was a wonderful human begin and his spirit will live long in the form of his music," he said.
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On the Net:
http://www.isaachayes.com ___
AP writers Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky., and Nekesa Moody in New York contributed to this story.
