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Soul Icon Isaac Hayes Dead At 65

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Bianca
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« on: August 10, 2008, 06:32:34 pm »



                         








                                           Soul icon Isaac Hayes dies at 65 






BBC News
Aug. 10, 2008



                                              A look back at the life of Isaac Hayes



US singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes has died at his home in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 65,
police said.

Police were called to Mr Hayes' home after his wife found him unconscious. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1408 (1908 GMT).

Mr Hayes, a flamboyant, deep-voiced performer, won an Oscar for the 1971 hit Theme From Shaft.

He was perhaps better known to a younger audience as the voice of Chef from the hit cartoon show, South Park.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

"Family members believe at this point it is a medical condition that might have led to his death," a police spokesman said, adding Mr Hayes was being treated for "a number of medical issues".

Mr Hayes suffered a stroke in 2006.






                                                               



Hayes the showman



Isaac Hayes - along with Al Green, James Brown and Stevie Wonder - was one of the dominant black artists of the early 1970s.

 
Hayes was renown for his deep voice and flamboyant on-stage style 

Hayes, a self-taught musician, was hired in 1964 by Stax Records as a back-up pianist and saxophone, working as a session musician for big names such as Otis Redding.

He established a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s, writing hits for Sam and Dave such as Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man. This success led on to a recording contract, and in 1969 he shot to fame with the release the groundbreaking album Hot Buttered Soul.

The theme from the film Shaft was a number one hit in 1971. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.

Isaac Hayes was also in several movies, including It Could Happen to You with Nicolas Cage, and Ninth Street with Martin Sheen.

He had success later in life as the voice of the South Park character, Chef. But he angrily quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked Scientology, a religious movement to which he belonged.

He was married four times and has 12 children.






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« Reply #1 on: August 10, 2008, 06:36:49 pm »



               








Aug.10, 2008
1 hour, 42 minutes ago
 
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Isaac Hayes, the baritone-voiced soul crooner who laid the groundwork for disco and whose "Theme From Shaft" won both Academy and Grammy awards, died Sunday afternoon after he collapsed near a treadmill, authorities said. He was 65.

Hayes was pronounced dead at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis an hour after he was found by a family member, the Shelby County Sheriff's Office said. The cause of death was not immediately known.

With his muscular build, shiny head and sunglasses, Hayes cut a striking figure at a time when most of his contemporaries were sporting Afros. His music, which came to be known as urban-contemporary, paved the way for disco as well as romantic crooners like Barry White.

And in his spoken-word introductions and interludes, Hayes was essentially rapping before there was rap. His career hit another high in 1997 when he became the voice of Chef, the sensible school cook and devoted ladies man on the animated TV show "South Park."

"Isaac Hayes embodies everything that's soul music," Collin Stanback, an A&R executive at Stax, told The Associated Press on Sunday. "When you think of soul music you think of Isaac Hayes — the expression ... the sound and the creativity that goes along with it."

Hayes was about to begin work on a new album for Stax, the soul record label he helped build to legendary status. And he had recently finished work on a movie called "Soul Men" in which he played himself, starring Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac, who died on Saturday.

Steve Shular, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said authorities received a 911 call after Hayes' wife and young son and his wife's cousin returned home from the grocery store and found him collapsed in a downstairs bedroom. A sheriff's deputy administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

"The treadmill was running but he was unresponsive lying on the floor," Shular said.

The album "Hot Buttered Soul" made Hayes a star in 1969. His shaven head, gold chains and sunglasses gave him a compelling visual image.

"Hot Buttered Soul" was groundbreaking in several ways: He sang in a "cool" style unlike the usual histrionics of big-time soul singers. He prefaced the song with "raps," and the numbers ran longer than three minutes with lush arrangements.

"Jocks would play it at night," Hayes recalled in a 1999 Associated Press interview. "They could go to the bathroom, they could get a sandwich, or whatever."

Next came "Theme From Shaft," a No. 1 hit in 1971 from the film "Shaft" starring Richard Roundtree.

"That was like the shot heard round the world," Hayes said in the 1999 interview.
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« Reply #2 on: August 10, 2008, 06:42:27 pm »

                                              




In 1972, he won another Grammy for his album "Black Moses" and earned a nickname he reluctantly embraced. Hayes composed film scores for "Tough Guys" and "Truck Turner" besides "Shaft." He also did the song "Two Cool Guys" on the "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" movie soundtrack in 1996. Additionally, he was the voice of Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" and had radio shows in New York City (1996 to 2002) and then in Memphis.

He was in several movies, including "It Could Happen to You" with Nicolas Cage, "Ninth Street" with Martin Sheen, "Reindeer Games" starring Ben Affleck and the blaxploitation parody "I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka."

In the 1999 interview, Hayes described the South Park cook 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," he said. "but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins."

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 was born in 1942 in a tin shack in Covington, Tenn., about 40 miles north of Memphis. He was raised by his maternal grandparents after his mother died and his father took off when he was 1 1/2. The family moved to Memphis when he was 6.

Hayes wanted to be a doctor, but got redirected when he won a talent contest in ninth grade by singing Nat King Cole's "Looking Back."

He held down various low-paying jobs, including shining shoes on the legendary Beale Street in Memphis. He also played gigs in rural Southern juke joints where at times he had to hit the floor because someone began shooting.

___

AP writers Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky., and Nekesa Moody in New York contributed to this story.
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« Reply #3 on: August 10, 2008, 06:49:18 pm »


                      
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« Reply #4 on: August 10, 2008, 06:56:12 pm »




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« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2008, 07:19:23 pm »

                                      

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« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2008, 07:25:44 pm »


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« Reply #7 on: August 10, 2008, 07:37:54 pm »




                         
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« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2008, 10:55:50 pm »

          









                                   More than 'Shaft': Hayes was goldmine of influence






By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY,
AP Music Writer
Aug. 10, 2008
 
With its riveting orchestration, definitive guitar play and signature sensual baritone vocals, Isaac Hayes' theme song for the 1971 movie "Shaft" not only became one of pop music's iconic songs, but also the defining work of Hayes' career.
 
Yet the "Theme from Shaft," which would earn both Grammys and an Oscar, was just a snippet of the groundbreaking music for which Hayes — who died Sunday at age 65 — was responsible.

He penned soul classics like "Hold On I'm Comin'" for Sam & Dave, helped usher in the era of disco and was a goldmine for countless hip-hop and R&B artists who used his illustrious arrangements as the focal point for their songs decades later.

"Isaac Hayes embodies everything that's soul music," Collin Stanback, an A&R executive at Stax, told The Associated Press on Sunday. "When you think of soul music you think of Isaac Hayes — the expression ... the sound and the creativity that goes along with it."

His influence also extended beyond music. His trademarked bald head, full beard and muscular frame, often adorned with a multitude of gold chains, made him a fashion trendsetter at a time when most of his contemporaries were sporting blowout Afros. He was also a symbol of black pride, and an activist for civil rights.
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« Reply #9 on: August 10, 2008, 10:58:27 pm »




                       








The Rev. Al Sharpton called Hayes a "creative genius" and added, "even in his later years he never hesitated to appear for a cause or endorse something that he felt was for the good of mankind. He will be sorely missed."

Hayes also acted in movies including "Tough Guys," "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka" and "Hustle & Flow." He had recently completed the movie "Soul Men," in which he played himself; the film also starred Samuel Jackson and Bernie Mac, who died on Saturday after a bout with pneumonia. And a new generation of fans discovered the man behind "Shaft" when, in 1997, he became the voice of Chef on the Comedy Central show "South Park."

Hayes, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis in Memphis, Tenn., after collapsing Sunday afternoon near a treadmill in his home nearby.

Steve Shular, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said authorities received a 911 call after Hayes' wife and young son and his wife's cousin returned home from the grocery store and found him collapsed in a downstairs bedroom. A sheriff's deputy administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

Stanback said he was shocked to learn of the death of the singer, who was about to start work on a new record for Stax, the label Hayes helped make legendary.

In an industry filled with colorful and dynamic figures, Hayes was a standout on several levels, from his smooth baritone to his flamboyant style: It was almost as if he was made to be a musical god.

But Hayes spent the early part of his career firmly in the musical background. A self-taught musician from Covington, Tenn., he made a name for himself playing with various bands around Memphis. In 1964, he was hired by Stax Records to be a backup pianist, working as a session musician for Otis Redding and others. He also played saxophone.
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« Reply #10 on: August 10, 2008, 11:02:01 pm »









He began writing songs, establishing a songwriting partnership with David Porter, and in the 1960s they wrote classic hits for Sam and Dave such as "Hold On, I'm Coming," "Soul Man," and "When Something is Wrong With My Baby." They also wrote for other Stax artists including Carla Thomas.

Hayes' work as a composer helped him secure a deal as a solo artist. His first album, "Presenting Isaac Hayes," was a poor seller, the result of an impromptu jam session. But after getting creative control, he delivered his next album, "Hot Buttered Soul" in 1969, and it made him a star.

Hayes offered something completely different to the musical world. In an era of straightened hair or Afros, Hayes was bald: "His look was just so profound," Stanback said. "He was like a superhero."

Whereas other soul crooners showed their passion through wails, Hayes delivery was calm, cool — almost subdued. He prefaced songs with "raps," and they ran longer than typical standard of three minutes: One song, a cover of Glen Campbell's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," ran 18 minutes.

"(Radio) jocks would play it at night," Hayes recalled of his songs in a 1999 Associated Press interview. "They could go to the bathroom, they could get a sandwich, or whatever."

Next came "Theme From Shaft," a No. 1 hit from the blaxploitation film "Shaft" starring Richard Roundtree.

"That was like the shot heard round the world," Hayes said in the 1999 interview.

At the Oscar ceremony in 1972, Hayes performed the song wearing an eye-popping amount of gold and received a standing ovation. TV Guide later chose it as No. 18 in its list of television's 25 most memorable moments. He won an Academy Award for the song and was nominated for another one for the score. The song and score also won him two Grammys.

In 1972, he won another Grammy for his album "Black Moses" and earned a nickname he reluctantly embraced. He was also part of the historic "Wattstax" concert in riot-ravaged Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Besides "Shaft," Hayes composed film scores for "Tough Guys" and "Truck Turner." He also did the song "Two Cool Guys" on the "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" movie soundtrack in 1996.

Additionally, he was the voice of Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" and had radio shows in New York City (1996 to 2002) and then in Memphis.
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« Reply #11 on: August 10, 2008, 11:04:21 pm »



               









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.

___





On the Net:

http://www.isaachayes.com

___

AP writers Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky., and Nekesa Moody in New York contributed to this story.
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« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2008, 11:28:53 am »



                                              




                   Isaac Hayes, 65; innovative singer, composer changed pop music with hits like 'Shaft'




 

 
By Ann Powers and Valerie J. Nelson,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
August 11, 2008

Isaac Hayes, the musician, composer and producer whose innovative sound changed the shape of pop music and whose shaved head, bejeweled outfits and regal demeanor embodied African American masculinity in the 1970s, has died. He was 65.

Family members found Hayes unresponsive Sunday afternoon next to a treadmill in a downstairs bedroom in his home just east of Memphis, Tenn., said Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office.

Hayes' wife, Adjowa, told investigators that her husband "had not been in the best of health recently," Shular said. No autopsy is planned.

With albums including 1969's "Hot Buttered Soul" and the double-disc, Grammy-winning "Black Moses" in 1971, Hayes laid the groundwork for both disco and hip-hop.

His rich, baritone voice backed by gently unfurling, string-laden arrangements showed how R&B could be both funky and ornate. His famous ruminative interludes on such songs as his cover of Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" set the stage for rap's elevation of the black male speaking voice.

He was most famous for his 1971 soundtrack for the blaxploitation classic "Shaft," which brought him an Academy Award for best song as well as two Grammys, but Hayes had a long and storied career beyond that Hollywood high point. In 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

His music and his image as a black artist had a titanic power, especially during the apex of his fame. With his shaved head, omnipresent sunglasses and equally ever-present gold jewelry, he cut a strong, marketable figure.

In the 1970s, he released a string of albums for Stax Records, a label that offered a grittier counterpoint to the Motown sound. Hayes' recordings expanded the playing field for soul and R&B artists, proving that an album-oriented market existed for his experimental sounds.

"Hayes' story is one of epic proportions," wrote ethnomusicologist Rob Bowman in "Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records" (1997). "In the first few years of the 1970s he single-handedly redefined the sonic possibilities for black music, in the process opening up the album market as a commercially viable medium for black artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Funkadelic, and Curtis Mayfield."
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« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2008, 11:31:30 am »









Before finding his own voice as a solo artist, Hayes was a primary architect of Southern soul as part of the Stax Records writing and production team. Stax was home to Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MGs and other hit-makers.

Hayes' collaborations with David Porter, a fellow session musician and lyricist at Stax, gave the Memphis-based label some of its biggest hits, including "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" for vocal duo Sam & Dave and "B-A-B-Y" for Carla Thomas. "Soul Man," another of the songwriting duo's compositions for Sam & Dave, was an early statement of black power that later became a huge crossover hit in 1978 for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers.

The fact that Hayes projected such a powerful sense of African American dignity, yet also co-wrote a career-defining hit for two white comedians, illustrates the paradoxical range of his appeal.

Headlining Wattstax in Los Angeles -- the 1972 festival that some called "the Black Woodstock" -- Hayes took the stage in gilded warrior garb. The crowd greeted him as a king. As a performer, Hayes embraced this role of ambassador of Afrocentric cool.

The shaved-head look that was central to his image developed in 1964 when the style among some African Americans was to straighten their hair. Tired of the effort that took, Hayes told his barber to cut it off.

"People stared and pointed, but I liked the breeze on my head. It felt great," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1995.

After a concert one night, when the crowd was screaming for him, a former boxer named Dino who was part of his security team said: "These people love you, man. They'll follow you anywhere. . . . You're like Moses. Black Moses!"

A writer from Jet magazine picked up on the phrase, and Hayes had mixed feelings at first as Black Moses became his nickname. He came to like the fact that people "didn't say I'm the Black Moses of the black world, they said of the music world."
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« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2008, 11:33:03 am »


                                                








But the music Hayes offered was as eclectic as any pop artist's. He covered songs by the Carpenters, Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and Jimmy Webb, transforming those "vanilla" hits into slow jams that would appeal to black and white listeners alike. Bacharach and David's "Walk on By" got a 12-minute reading from Hayes on "Hot Buttered Soul." Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" ran 18 minutes.

"Music is universal [but] sometimes presentation will restrict you or limit your range," Hayes said in "Soulsville U.S.A." "Glen Campbell and Jim Webb were targeting the pop audience. But when I did it, I aimed to the black market, but it was so big, it went all over."

Hayes' popularity as a recording artist waned in the mid-1970s, and he filed for bankruptcy in 1976.

He found a new focus as an actor in the 1980s, landing a recurring role on "The Rockford Files" and appearing in such films as "Escape From New York," playing the lead villain "The Duke" in the 1981 film, and 1995's "Johnny Mnemonic."

A new generation came to know him from "South Park," the animated series that gave him his most famous role as the voice of Chef. Hayes used the role of the suave cafeteria master to poke fun at his macho image and broaden his audience.

When he was offered the part by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, "South Park's" creators, Hayes thought they were playing a joke on him, but they assured him they were not.

Hayes said he responded, "You all some crazy white boys!"

In 2006, Hayes quit "South Park" after an episode mocked Scientology, the religion that Hayes practiced. He felt the episode showed bigotry and intolerance toward his religious beliefs. Stone responded by saying that Hayes had no problem with the episodes that made fun of Christians. Later, the character of Chef was seemingly killed off.

At the same time he was rediscovered through "South Park," younger musicians such as soul singers D'Angelo and Alicia Keys and the hip-hop duo Outkast began making music inspired by Hayes. Already much-sampled by hip-hop artists, Hayes enjoyed a renewed influence as R&B artists came back toward his lush, adventurous style.
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