Isaac Hayes: From Shaft to Chef

The singer-composer, dead at 65, revved up the motor of testosterone in R&B; and made even Hollywood take notice

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Grammy-winning musician Isaac Hayes, pictured here around 1970, died in Tennessee on August 10 at 65

Isaac Hayes packed a lot of excitement and achievement into his 65-year life, which ended Sunday an hour after his wife Adjowa found him unconscious and collapsed near a treadmill in his Memphis, Tenn., home. He had written hit songs, made platinum records, starred in movies, been elected to two music Halls of Fame and provided the voice of Chef on South Park, which gave him a memorable if premature send-off in 2006. But the biggest triumph for this self-described Black Moses had to be on April 10, 1972, when his Theme from Shaft won the Academy Award...

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