Soul Legend Isaac Hayes Dies at 65
Grammy and Academy Award-winning soul legend Isaac Hayes was found unconscious, next to a treadmill, in his Memphis home and eventually rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on Sunday. Hayes was 65. The 'Shaft' singer paved the way for smooth, deep-voiced crooners like the late Barry White and is credited for rapping before the genre's actual existence. "The rappers have gone in and created a lot of hit music based upon my influence," Hayes said. "And they'll tell you if you ask."
Hip-hop went on to show love to the legend by sampling Hayes' classics. Jay-Z's 'Can I Live' samples the music from Hayes' 'The Look of Love' and Public Enemy borrowed the guitar riff from the 'Theme From Shaft' for 1988's 'Caught, Can We Get a Witness?' off 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.' Also, Nas' 'Getting Married' features Hayes' 'Ike Mood I' and the Notorious B.I.G. used the back track of the soul singer's version of 'Walk on By.'
The godfather of soul and funk, Hayes' 'Theme From Shaft,' for which the singer-songwriter won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, is widely known as one of the most iconic soundtrack hits. Hayes regained popularity in the 90's as the voice of Jerome "Chef" McElroy on the popular, controversial cartoon 'South Park.'
Isaac Hayes Snapshots
Getty Images
Getty Images
AP
Reuters
Reuters
AP
AFP/Getty Images
AP
AP
AP
soKe.flace('music-boombox.isaachayes.obit', '476', '600'); var uid = new Date().getTime(); var flashProxy = new FlashProxy(uid, 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/modtools/kit_swfpublisher_javascriptflashgateway.swf'); var flashvars = {}; try { flashvars.lcId = uid; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.outlet_w = '476'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.outlet_h = '600'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.targetDivId = 'music-boombox.isaachayes.obit'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.targetAds = 'music-boombox.isaachayes.obit'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.omniture_tracker = '0'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.adrefresh_wrapper = '1'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { flashvars.appswfURL = soKe.fv('http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=331861&pid=331860&uts=1218479204'); } catch (Exc) { }; if (typeof(screen_name) != 'undefined') try { flashvars.userName = screen_name; } catch (Exc) { }; var params = {}; try { params.wmode = 'opaque'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.quality = 'best'; } catch (Exc) { }; try { params.allowscriptaccess = 'always'; } catch (Exc) { }; var attributes = {}; try { attributes.id = 'outlet'; } catch (Exc) { }; top.exd_space.refresher.ads2Refresh(new Array( 'music-boombox.isaachayes.obit', new Array('93243967', '300', '250', '0') )); top.exd_space.refresher.iFrm2Refresh(new Array( 'music-boombox.isaachayes.obit', new Array('Placement_ID', '1368480'), new Array('Domain_ID', '1012776') )); top.exd_space.refresher.mmx('music-boombox.isaachayes.obit', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/_media/channels/ke_blank.html', ''); swfobject.embedSWF('http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf', 'music-boombox.isaachayes.obit-swf', '476', '600', '8.0.0', 'http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/swfobject/expressinstall.swf', flashvars, params, attributes); top.exd_space.refresher.launcher( 'music-boombox.isaachayes.obit',{ size:['476t'], photoNumber:['2'], title:['Remembering Isaac hayes'], numimages:['23'], baseImageURL:['http://o.aolcdn.com/feedgallery//'], imageurl:['fotosrch/0/20010727NYIH108.jpg'], credit:['AP'], source:['AP'], caption:['** FILE ** In this July 27, 2001 file photo, Isaac Hayes reacts to the crowd of people at World of Music and Dance, a three-day festival of music, arts and dance, in Redmond, Wash. Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer, songwriter and musician whose relentless "Theme From Shaft" won Academy and Grammy awards died Sunday Aug. 10, 2008. He was 65. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)'], dims:['http://o.aolcdn.com/dims/PGMC/5/220/289/100/'], showDisclaimerText:[''], disclaimerText:[''], CSS_Title:[''], CSS_Caption:[''], CSS_Disclaimer:[''], CSS_Container:[''], CSS_PhotoWell:[''], CSS_Buttons:[''], CSS_BtnOver:[''], topMargin:['104,0,220,289,428,289,0,0'] } );