Isaac Hayes Artistfacts

August 20, 1942 - August 10, 2008
He was the voice of Chef on the animated TV show South Park. On many episodes, he sang deep soul ballads to seduce ladies like Kathie Lee Gifford. A few months after suffering a stroke, Hayes issued a statement quitting the show because of a Scientology episode that was done at the end of Season 9. His son later said that Hayes didn't issue the statement, as his father would not be so hypocritical as to work on a show that makes fun of just about every culture and religion and then take offense when his religion is a target.
He wrote a cookbook called Cooking with Heart and Soul . One of the items is "Deep-Fried Jive Turkey."
Before he started recording, he was a successful songwriter. He wrote many of Sam & Dave's hits in the '60s, including "Soul Man" and "Hold On I'm Coming."
Hayes played keyboards as a session musician for Stax Records, a legendary record label in Memphis.
His full name is Isaac Lee Hayes. He was born in Covington, Tennessee.
His biggest hit, by far, was "Theme From Shaft," written for the 1971 movie Shaft. The song went to #1 in America and won the Oscar for Best Original Score, making Hayes the first African-American to win in that category as a composer.
Hayes was a much better musician than businessman. He declared bankruptcy in 1977 after the failure of his own label, Hot Buttered Soul Records.
He earned the nickname the "Black Moses Of Soul," and was the first famous black performer to wear chains as a symbol of success.
Hi parents died in a car accident when he was still an infant. He was raised by his grandparents in Covington, Tennessee.
As told to Terry Gross on National Public Radio, before he hit puberty, Hayes had a high, squeaky voice. He went through a dramatic voice change and ended up "Down in the basement."
Hayes owned a 1972 Cadillac Ed Dorado that was fur-lined and plated in gold. One of the funkiest cars ever created, it is on display at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
He got on the disco train early with a 1975 instrumental called "Disco Connection," credited to the Isaac Hayes Movement. It didn't chart in America but went to #10 in the UK. Hayes' version of disco was much funkier than what was to come.

Comments: 2

Ken from Dupont, PaIsaac Hayes played the Duke of New York in John Carpenter's "Escape From New York" (1981). The Duke was A-Number One.
Matthew from New York, NyInducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

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