Just one day after Bernie Mac died, another black entertainment icon has passed away.Academy Award-winning soul music legend Isaac Hayes died in Memphis today at age 65.
His former manager Onzie Horne confirmed to media outlets that relatives found Hayes unconscious in his home next to a still-running treadmill.
Paramedics attempted to revive him and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2 p.m., Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department, said.
Hayes, a Covington, Tennessee native, made history by winning an Oscar for 'Theme from 'Shaft' – the first African American to do so.
He also won a Grammy Award and Golden Globe Award for the timeless classic.
On his own, his body of work includes collaborations with Millie Jackson, Barry White, Dionne Warwick, Donald Byrd, Tom Jones and Alicia Keys, among many others.Known as "Black Moses," Hayes -- as a song stylist of the highest degree and a multi-talented instrumentalist -- personified black soul music during the 1970s era.
Younger fans may know him for supplying the voice of the character Chef on the hit cartoon series 'South Park.' A devout Scientologist, he would later resign from the show citing religious reasons.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, alongside Bill WIthers and John Fogerty.
Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, referred to Hayes as "a true renaissance man" in a statement issued today.
"After laying the groundwork for the Memphis soul sound through his work with Stax Records, his groundbreaking theme song and score for the movie 'Shaft' cemented his status as a musical icon," Portnow continued about the three-time Grammy Award winner.
"He was actively involved with our Memphis Chapter, sharing his creativity with established professionals and up-and-coming musicians alike," he said, adding that "the world has lost a true creative genius and a passionate humanitarian, but his indelible legacy will remain ever present. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and all who were inspired by the man and his music."
Hayes, who appeared in the John Singleton-produced movie 'Hustle & Flow,' will next be seen alongside Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson in the film 'Soul Men.'
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008)[1] was an American soul and funk singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, composer, and actor. Hayes was one of the main creative forces behind southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served as both an in-house songwriter and producer with partner David Porter during the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s, Hayes became a recording artist, and recorded successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971) as the Stax label's premier artist.
Alongside his work in popular music, Hayes was a film score composer for motion pictures. His best known work, for the 1971 blaxploitation film Shaft, earned Hayes an Academy Award for Best Original Song (the first Academy Award received by an African-American in a non-acting category) and two Grammy Awards. He received a third Grammy for the album Black Moses.
In 1992, in recognition of his humanitarian work, he was crowned an honorary king of Ghana's Ada district. From 1997 to 2006, he provided the voice for the character "Chef" on the Comedy Central animated TV series South Park.
Hayes was found unconscious in his home located just east of Memphis, Tennessee on August 10, 2008 as reported by the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff's Department. A Shelby County Sheriff's deputy responded to Hayes' home after his wife found him on the floor near a still-running treadmill. Hayes was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, where he was pronounced dead at 2:08pm.[1][2]
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