Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee in 1942, the second-born child of Isaac Sr. and Eula Hayes, but after their deaths was raised by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Wade, Sr. The child of a poor family, he grew up picking cotton in Covington. He dropped out of high school, only to be encouraged later by his former high school teachers at Manassas High to get his diploma. He earned his diploma at the age of 21. He began singing at the age of five at his local church, and, soon after, he taught himself how to play the piano, electronic organ, flute, and saxophone.
In early 1971, Hayes composed music for the soundtrack of the blaxploitation film Shaft. (in the movie, he also appeared in a cameo role as the bartender of No Name Bar). The title theme, with its wah-wah guitar and multi-layered symphonic arrangement, would become a worldwide hit single, and spent two weeks at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 in November. The remainder of the album was mostly instrumentals covering big beat jazz, bluesy funk, and hard Stax-styled soul. The other two vocal songs, the social commentary "Soulville" and the nineteen-minute jam "Do Your Thing," would be edited down to hit singles. Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the Theme from Shaft, and was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score for the film's score.
More on Shaft the movie:
Shaft is a 1971 American film directed by Gordon Parks and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. An action film with elements of film noir, Shaft tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob in order to find the missing daughter of a black mobster. It stars Richard Roundtree as Shaft, Moses Gunn as Bumpy Jonas, Charles Cioffi as Lt. Vic Androzzi, Christopher St. John as Ben Buford, and Gwenn Mitchell and Lawrence Pressman in smaller roles. The movie was adapted by Ernest Tidyman and John D. F. Black from Tidyman's 1971 novel of the same name.
The movie is widely considered a prime example of the blaxploitation genre. The Shaft soundtrack album, recorded by Isaac Hayes, was also a success, with the "Theme from Shaft" winning the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
In 2000, Shaft was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Tagline
The mob wanted Harlem back. They got Shaft...up to here.
Production for Shaft the movie
According to Melvin Van Peebles, the original production was of a white detective story, but after the success of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971), the original script was scrapped in favor of an adaptation of Ernest Tidyman's 1970 novel Shaft, which focused on an African-American detective. Tidyman, who was white, was an editor at The New York Times prior to becoming a novelist. He sold the movie rights to Shaft by showing the galley proofs to the studio (the novel had not yet been published). Tidyman was honored by the NAACP for his work on the Shaft movies and books.
Box office and Academy Awards
The film was a surprising and runaway box-office success, grossing $12 million, with a budget of only $1,125,000. Isaac Hayes won an Academy Award for Best Music, Song for "Theme from Shaft". Hayes was also nominated for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score.
Sequels
Two sequels were made: Shaft's Big Score in 1972, and Shaft in Africa in 1973. These were followed by a series of TV movies starring Roundtree as Shaft on CBS during the 1973-1974 TV season.
In 2000, a sequel was made featuring Samuel L. Jackson in the title role (see Shaft (2000 film)). Jackson plays the nephew of Richard Roundtree's character; Roundtree returns as John Shaft, still a private eye, trying to get his nephew to join him.
Similar artists and followers include:
Booker T. & the MG's, The Mar-Keys, Charles Wright, Zapp, The Ohio Players, Cameo, Dazz Band, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Willie & the Mighty Magnificents, The Funk Brothers, The Meters, James Brown, George Clinton, Chuck Brown, The Average White Band, Kool & the Gang, The Salsoul Orchestra, Brass Construction, Norman Harris, Earl Young, Ectomorph, Ron Baker, Aristocrats, Cee Knowledge, Lefties Soul Connection, Arthur Conley, The Artist Formerly Known as Prince and the Revolution, New Power Generation, Earth, Wind & Fire, Funkadelics, Parliament, Jimi Hendrix, Van Halen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, afros, 70's, 70s, 1970's, 1970s, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, disco, Percussion, Bar-Kays, barkays, Gordon Parks, film scores, Theme From Shaft, Barry White, Curtis Mayfield, Gap Band, Bill Withers, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Motown, Eric B. & Rakim, Café Reggio's, R. Kelly
