Soul man

A friend complains that I claimed to have written about the late, great Isaac Hayes — but all she found on my post about his death was a link to a youtube video. OK. She’s right. Here’s what I think about Isaac Hayes.

He was larger than life and hard to ignore — but his genius was still overlooked. The video I posted showed a performance by the head-shaved, bare-chested, gold-chained, half growling/half-crooning Isaac Hayes of the “Shaft” era. But we’re also talking about a great songwriter and producer for the legendary Stax records. He wrote “Hold On I’m Coming” and “Soul Man,” the songs by Sam and Dave. He helped shape R&B, soul music, disco and hip-hop. He played piano on Otis Redding sessions. He did an 18-minute-long interpretation of Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” He “rapped” before they called it rap. He’s a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He won two Grammys and an Academy Award. He was the voice of the Chef on “South Park.” His performance was one of the highlights of the concert and film “Wattstax.”

Ladies and gentlemen…”Black Moses…” lead singer/arranger for Isaac Hayes and the Soul Men, heaven’s coolest celestial choir.