Isaac Hayes

Few innovators embody soul music’s adventurous spirit better than Isaac Hayes. Born in Tennessee in 1942, Hayes followed his musical rearing in the church to Memphis, where he became a session player and songwriter at Stax Records. His partnership with singer-songwriter David Porter produced hard-hitting sides for several Stax acts, including Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave and Mable John. But his solo recordings broke soul music from a singles-driven format into long-form album experiences. From 1969’s Hot Buttered Soul to 1971’s Black Moses, Hayes’ penchant for transmogrifying pop staples into sexy fuzzed-out epics with his seductive basso voice shaped the tenets of funk, disco and hip-hop music. His foray into film scoring foiled scene-setting with elegant strings, chugging wah-wah guitars, and muscular grooves, most notably with his 1972 Oscar®-winning theme to Shaft. Hayes’ later pivots into smooth soul and disco stalled in the late ’70s, but since his death in August 2008, his progressive soul trademarks are felt in all of American pop—keyed by countless in hip-hop and alternative R&B today.