Isaac Hayes a trailblazer, innovator and creative genius and says he will be sorely missed. Hayes, the first African-American to win an Oscar for a music score died at his Memphis, Tennessee home yesterday at the age of 65. Hayes' wife found him dead on the floor near the treadmill, according to an MTV article. Coincidentally, Hayes was scheduled to appear in an upcoming production with the late Bernie Mac, reports the Memphis TV station.
According to Hayes' official Web site, the music icon was set to play himself in a musical comedy starring comedian Bernie Mac, who died Saturday. (WMC-TV)I grew up in New Orleans, but I was born in Memphis, Tenn. My parents moved back to New Orleans when I was a baby, but while in Memphis they owned a house and lived next door to a teacher who taught Hayes. I always felt a tiny personal connection to Hayes because of my birth town.However, I was also a fan of his music. Hayes not only won an Oscar for Shaft, but also won Grammy awards for the score and another classic.
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. (CBS News)The Shaft theme is a classic, synonymous with cool bad ass, and about two years ago I made a point of replacing my vinyl copy with a CD. I used to have a clip of "Do Your Thing," another song from the Shaft score posted with a poem at AuthorsDen. And yes, I'm old enough to recall his music played frequently on the radio. Read more about Hayes' career at CBS. The man was a musical genius, but he also showed up in movies and television shows from time to time. As the MTV story points out, he experienced an unexpected return to the spotlight doing the voice of Chef on Southpark. However, Hayes quit the show when it took a poke at his spiritual beliefs. He was a Scientologist.
According to Hayes' official Web site, the music icon was set to play himself in a musical comedy starring comedian Bernie Mac, who died Saturday. (WMC-TV)I grew up in New Orleans, but I was born in Memphis, Tenn. My parents moved back to New Orleans when I was a baby, but while in Memphis they owned a house and lived next door to a teacher who taught Hayes. I always felt a tiny personal connection to Hayes because of my birth town.However, I was also a fan of his music. Hayes not only won an Oscar for Shaft, but also won Grammy awards for the score and another classic.
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. (CBS News)The Shaft theme is a classic, synonymous with cool bad ass, and about two years ago I made a point of replacing my vinyl copy with a CD. I used to have a clip of "Do Your Thing," another song from the Shaft score posted with a poem at AuthorsDen. And yes, I'm old enough to recall his music played frequently on the radio. Read more about Hayes' career at CBS. The man was a musical genius, but he also showed up in movies and television shows from time to time. As the MTV story points out, he experienced an unexpected return to the spotlight doing the voice of Chef on Southpark. However, Hayes quit the show when it took a poke at his spiritual beliefs. He was a Scientologist.
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