48 Facts About Isaac Hayes

Isaac Hayes was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a session musician and record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the mid-1960s.

In 2002, Isaac Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Isaac Hayes had several successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul and Black Moses.

Isaac Hayes was known for his musical score for the film Shaft.

In 1992, Isaac Hayes was crowned honorary king of the Ada region of Ghana in recognition of his humanitarian work there.

Isaac Hayes acted in motion pictures and television, such as in the movies Truck Turner and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and as Gandolf "Gandy" Fitch in the TV series The Rockford Files.

Isaac Hayes voiced the character Chef from the animated Comedy Central series South Park from its 1997 debut until his controversial departure in 2006.

At age five, Isaac Hayes began singing at his local church; he taught himself to play the piano, Hammond organ, flute, and saxophone.

Isaac Hayes dropped out of high school, but his former teachers at Manassas High School in Memphis encouraged him to complete his diploma, which he did at age 21.

Isaac Hayes turned down all of them to provide for his immediate family, working at a meat-packing plant in Memphis by day and playing nightclubs and juke joints several evenings a week in Memphis and nearby northern Mississippi.

Isaac Hayes began his recording career in the early 1960s, as a session musician for acts recorded by the Memphis-based Stax Records.

Isaac Hayes released a Christmas single, "The Mistletoe and Me".

In early 1971, Isaac Hayes composed music for the soundtrack of the blaxploitation film Shaft.

Isaac Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the "Theme from Shaft", and in addition was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score.

Later in the year, Isaac Hayes released a double album, Black Moses, that expanded on his earlier sounds and featured The Jackson 5's song "Never Can Say Goodbye".

Isaac Hayes released a couple of other non-album singles during the year, such as "If Loving You Is Wrong " and "Rolling Down a Mountainside".

Isaac Hayes was back in 1973 with an acclaimed live double album, Live at the Sahara Tahoe, and followed it up with the album Joy.

Isaac Hayes moved away from cover songs with this album.

In 1974, Isaac Hayes was featured in the blaxploitation films Three Tough Guys and Truck Turner, and he recorded soundtracks for both.

Unlike most African American musicians of the period, Isaac Hayes did not sport an Afro haircut; his bald head became one of his defining characteristics.

Isaac Hayes himself was deep in debt to Union Planters Bank, which administered loans for the Stax label and many of its other key employees.

Isaac Hayes formed his own label, Hot Buttered Soul, which released its product through ABC Records.

However, while all these albums were regarded as solid efforts, Isaac Hayes was no longer selling large numbers.

In 1977, Isaac Hayes was back with a new deal with Polydor Records, a live album of duets with Dionne Warwick did moderately well, and his comeback studio album New Horizon sold better and enjoyed a hit single "Out The Ghetto", and featured the popular "It's Heaven To Me".

In 1979, Isaac Hayes returned to the Top 40 with Don't Let Go and its disco-styled title track that became a hit single, and featured the classic "A Few More Kisses To Go".

Isaac Hayes attempted a musical comeback, embracing the style of drum machines and synth for 1986s U-Turn and 1988s Love Attack, though neither proved successful.

In 1995, Isaac Hayes appeared as a Las Vegas minister impersonating himself in the comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Isaac Hayes launched a comeback on the Virgin label in May 1995 with Branded, an album of new material that earned impressive sales figures as well as positive reviews from critics who proclaimed it a return to form.

Isaac Hayes joined the founding cast of Comedy Central's animated TV series South Park.

Isaac Hayes provided the voice for the character of "Chef", the amorous elementary-school lunchroom cook, from the show's debut on August 13,1997, through the end of its ninth season in 2006.

In 2000, Isaac Hayes appeared on the soundtrack of the French movie The Magnet on the song "Is It Really Home" written and composed by rapper Akhenaton and composer Bruno Coulais.

In 2002, Isaac Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2004, Isaac Hayes appeared in a recurring minor role as the Jaffa Tolok on the television series Stargate SG-1.

Club on January 4,2006, Isaac Hayes was again asked about the episode.

On March 13,2006, a statement was issued in Isaac Hayes's name, indicating that he was asking to be released from his contract with Comedy Central, calling recent episodes that satirized religious beliefs intolerant.

Isaac Hayes wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin.

Friends in Memphis tell me that Isaac Hayes did not issue any statements on his own about South Park.

Isaac Hayes's income was sharply reduced as a result of leaving South Park.

Isaac Hayes stated during this interview that he was no longer on good terms with Parker and Stone.

On March 20,2006, Roger Friedman of Fox News reported that Isaac Hayes had suffered a minor stroke in January.

Isaac Hayes was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Isaac Hayes married bank teller Mignon Harley on April 18,1973, and they divorced in 1986; they had two children.

Isaac Hayes had one son to whom he gave his name, Isaac Hayes III, known as rap producer Ike Dirty.

Isaac Hayes took his first Scientology course in 1993, later contributing endorsement blurbs for many Scientology books over the ensuing years.

The Isaac Hayes Foundation was founded in 1999 by Hayes.

In February 2006, Isaac Hayes appeared in a Youth for Human Rights International music video called "United".

Isaac Hayes was involved in other human rights related groups such as the One Campaign.

Isaac Hayes was crowned a chief in Ghana for his humanitarian work and economic efforts on the country's behalf.