Shaft was a bit before my time as far as movies go, but I remember hearing the theme later in life in some movies. However, the way I was most introduced to Isaac Hayes was South Park. I am a HUGE South Park fan and have all their seasons on DVD including their movie. LOL--I even have Trey Parker's first 2 normal movies on DVD before he was doing South Park. "Chef" was one of the best characters. He was the one honest adult the kids could go to with their problems and questions. And he always had time for them. Chef was just a tad sexual without being a pedofile. It was clear he liked the ladies <g>. When Isaac Hayes quit SP because of a Scientology episode, I was stunned. I thought Matt and Trey handled it as well as they could. They said they knew it might be a problem at some point. And I think they would have let Chef quietly go into the night. Until Isaac was interviewed trashing the boys. Well, Matt and Trey answerd the only way they knew how - using the cast of SP to do the talking for them. Hoo boy!  But even the end of that final Chef episode, they publicly stated through the kids how much they loved (they even say that) Isaac and how much they missed him on the show.

"I like the way you move" is one of my favorite songs and he was fabulous. This weekend we lost 2 great entertainers.
 
Christina

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Soul singer and arranger Isaac Hayes, who won Grammy awards and an Oscar for the theme from the 1971 action film "Shaft," has died, sheriff's officials in Memphis, Tennessee, reported Sunday.

Relatives found Hayes, 65, unconscious in his home next to a still-running treadmill, said Steve Shular, a spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department.

Paramedics attempted to revive him and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 2 p.m., the sheriff's department said.

No foul play is suspected, the agency said in a written statement.

Hayes was a longtime songwriter and arranger for Stax Records in Memphis, playing in the studio's backup band and crafting tunes for artists such as Otis Redding and Sam and Dave in the 1960s.

He released his first solo album in 1967, and his 1969 follow-up, "Hot Buttered Soul," became a platinum hit.

In 1971, the theme from "Shaft" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and won an Academy Award for best original theme song. The song and the movie score also won Grammy awards for best original score and movie theme.

Hayes won a third Grammy for pop instrumental performance with the title track to his 1972 "Black Moses" album.

From the late 1990s through 2006, Hayes provided the voice of "Chef" for Comedy Central's raunchy animated series "South Park," as well as numerous songs.

The role introduced him to a new generation of fans, but he left after the show lampooned his own religion, the Church of Scientology.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. In a CNN interview at the time, Hayes credited his success to "adjusting and constantly evolving, expanding and trying to stay as young as I can."

The new generation of popular musicians, he said, "could use a little more substance like we had in the day."

"They're standing on our shoulders. Some of them don't realize [it] because they sample me so much," he said.

Hayes credited his role on "South Park" with expanding his fan base, and said that he had almost passed on the job.

"I started to walk out. I thought it was a Disney thing. I [had] never heard of this thing," he said. But his agent persuaded him to tape some episodes.

"Toward the opening I started having trepidations -- 'Oh my god, what have I done? I've ruined my career.' But when it aired, the ratings went through the roof," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/10/hayes.obit/index.html