Isaac Hayes Biography

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Isaac Hayes and Taryn Manning in Paramount Classics' Hustle & Flow.

Birth Date: August 20, 1942

Birth Place: Covington, Tennessee, USA

Two years after his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a celebrated move back home to Memphis, the public persona of Isaac Hayes is surging forward with a momentum usually associated with teen popstars and visiting royalty. In fact, Hayes is resident royalty for more than a decade, a coronated King of the Ada coastal district of Ghana in western Africa, where he is a member of the Royal Family. Instead of a palace, he built an 8,000 square foot educational facility through his Isaac Hayes Foundation (IHF). He is most certainly the only King on earth with an Oscar, Grammy awards, #1 gold records, his voice on an animated tv series, a radio show, two restaurants, a best-selling cookbook, and top secret barbecue sauces.

Hayes became the first African American composer to win an Oscar in 1972, when his music from “Shaft” was nominated for Best Musical Score and Best Original Song (which won). The “Theme from Shaft” also won a Golden Globe, two Grammys, the NAACP Image Award and the Edison Award. The Covington, Tennessee-born musician-actor has distinguished himself in a number of creative fields over a lifetime of achievements. He began his career as a session player with the Memphis-based Stax label, home of Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MGs, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett and Carla Thomas. As Stax's leading composer/producer, Hayes' collaborations with David Porter were responsible for many hits of the late `60s, including “Hold on, I'm Coming,” “Soul Man” and “I Thank You.”

Beginning in 1967, with the release of his first solo album and through the end of the `70s, Hayes became a superstar, with monikers applied to him like Black Moses and Hot Buttered Soul. By the end of the seventies, Hayes had begun his second career as an actor in such films as “Truck Turner” and “Three Tough Guys,” and on TV in episodes of “The Rockford Files,” “Hunter,” “Miami Vice” and “The A-Team.” His acting career continues through the nineties in films like “I'm Gonna Git You Sucka,” “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” “Escape from New York,” “It Could Happen to You,” “Flipper,” and “Reindeer Games.” He is the voice of Chef on “South Park” and played the role in the film “South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut.” His voice was also heard in “Dr. Dolittle 2.”

In Memphis, Hayes' five-hour nightly radio shift on WRBO Soul Classics 103.5 FM is still the #1-rated show in town in its third year on the air. Prior to his move back to Memphis, Hayes hosted New York's top-rated urban radio show for six years on the city's KISS-FM.

Isaac Hayes Filmography

Disco Disco (2005)

Hustle & Flow (2005) Arnel

Book of Days (2003)

Only the Strong Survive (2003) Himself

Soul Comes Home - A Celebration of Stax Records and Memphis Soul Music (2003)

Tom Jones and Friends Live (2003)

Chelsea Walls (2002)

Dead Dog (2001)

Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) Voice of Possum

Reindeer Games (2000) Zook

Wattstax (2000)