Soul icon Isaac Hayes dies at 65

RIP

 

Hi,

Isaac Hayes R.I.P.

Sad news indeed.

It's a bit strange because I was sorting out & looking through some records yesterday. I was looking at a few of his albums. I looked at the titles and was thinking how head turning his music was & the impact it would have made at the time.

Isaac Hayes was born, like a number of black performers, in the deep south and in poverty. Like many, he took up singing in the church. He also taught himself to play a few instruments. This led him to Memphis & the club circuit. Here he performed with a number of bands and cut a few records.

One band he ended up in was the Markeys. They ended up as the house band at Stax records. From this, Isaac played on a number of early Stax sessions. This led to his writing partnership with Dave Porter. They hit the ground running. They wrote & produced some of the best soul music ever.

Tunes such as Sam & Dave "Hold on, I'm coming", "Soul Man", "Soul Sister, Brown sugar" and Carla Thomas "B.A.B.Y."

From this, He started to release his own stuff. His first album came out in 1967. "Presenting Isaac Hayes" set his stall out as an arranger and producer as well as a writer. It showed his new direction.

His next album hit the ground running. "Hot Buttered Soul" really set the standard. Long versions of know tunes but with interesting arrangements. It moves away from the stanard 3 minutes pop song formula and gave a different twist to black music. This set the benchmark for a string of fine albums.

These included "....To be continued", "The Isaac hayes movement", "Black Moses", "Shaft" and " Joy".

International fame came when he wrote & produced the very sucessful soundtrack from the film "Shaft". This got him an Oscar for his efforts.

The trademark of these records were the complex but accessible arrangements using a wide range of instruments. He created a sounndscape that kept the attention. The music was soulful, groovy, funky and ear catching. He sang, he talked and rapped on many of his tunes.

His talents also included acting. He appeared in a number of tv programmes such as the Rockford Files and also starred in the film "Truck Turner".

By the the mid 70s thing started to go bad for Isaac. Stax records went bust, his records weren't selling as before, his career went in decline. He went bankrupt in 1976. This cost him dearly. He lost his home, lots of property and future royalities of his previous work.

He soldiered on releasing records, most didn't hit the heights of his previous items.

Mid 90s saw the album "Branded" being released. This was a return to form with an album of high standard productions. Also in the 90s he had a key role as "Chef" in the hit series "South Park". Which bought him to the fore with loads of new fans. He even had a UK No1 with "Chocolate salty balls".

Isaac Hayes was one of those performers that pushed along black popular music to new & different forms. He expanded it to a popular audience. He has been responsible for some of the best soul music ever. I take my hat off to him.

Dean

 

Sad to go so early. Tough on his family that found him.

I cannot claim to know much of his work, but what I have heard/seen I have enjoyed.

 

Rip

 

my altime favourite is the theme from shaft, priceless. what a legend and sadly missed