Hayes, Isaac
Hayes, Isaac
August 20, 1942
Singer, musician, composer, and record producer Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee, and attended Memphis public schools. He played saxophone in his high school band, sang in church choirs, and began playing saxophone and piano in local clubs as early as the 1950s, completing his first solo recording in 1962. From 1962 to 1965 he played in the Memphis-area rhythm-and-blues club circuit, including Sir Isaac and the Doo-Dads. He soon formed a songwriting and producing partnership with his friend David Porter. The team worked together for several years at Stax Records in Memphis, establishing the Memphis Sound.
Hayes and Porter together wrote and produced numerous recordings, and Hayes personally worked as arranger, pianist, organist, and producer, with major Stax artists such as Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. Their hit songs of the period 1965–1968 included "Son Man" and "Hold On, I'm Coming," followed by the Hot Buttered Soul album, which went platinum in 1969. Perhaps the crowning achievement of this period was Hayes's 1971 score for the film Shaft, an instant hit for both the film and the subsequent record releases. Shaft earned Hayes an Academy Award, two Grammys, and a Golden Globe award. Next came Black Moses, another Grammy winner, in 1972.
Hayes's style blends rhythm and blues with jazz elements, including sampling and a liberal use of synthesizers and overdubbing. He fits his music to his artists (including himself), and the result often crosses over various performing styles, including blues, jazz, and gospel. The movie Shaft 2000 follows in this vein, and Hayes's artistic efforts continue. In 2004 he won the Trumpet Award and was signed to act in the television series Stargate SG-1 and in the movie Hustle and Flow.
See also Blaxploitation Films; Music in the United States; Recording Industry
Bibliography
Floyd, Samuel, ed. International Dictionary of Black Composers. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
Hardy, Phil, and Dave Laing. Encyclopedia of Rock. New York: Schirmer, 1987.
Hitchcock, H. Wiley, and Stanley Sadie, eds. The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. New York: Grove, 1986.
darius l. thieme (1996)
Updated by publisher 2005