Isaac Hayes

CTL-E-5269 · Person · musician · 1942–2008

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was a Memphis soul singer, songwriter, composer and producer who helped build the Stax Records sound. Born in Covington, Tennessee, he came to Memphis and joined Stax as a session pianist and staff writer, partnering with David Porter on songs including “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” for Sam & Dave and “B-A-B-Y” for Carla Thomas. His solo breakthrough, Hot Buttered Soul (1969), remade soul as long-form orchestral music; Black Moses and the Shaft soundtrack followed, and his “Theme from Shaft” won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Later generations met him as the voice of Chef on South Park (1997–2006). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002 and, with Porter, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

The record

• Also known as: Isaac Lee Hayes Jr.

Relationships

• Memphis, Tennessee — from
  Isaac Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee, and made Memphis his home and creative base: his Stax career was Memphis-based and he died at his home in Memphis on August 10, 2008.

Referenced by

• Hot Buttered Soul — authored by → this record

Sources

• Songwriters Hall of Fame, “Isaac Hayes” — https://metadata.theshfl.com/artist/Isaac-Hayes (primary source)
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame statement on the passing of Isaac Hayes (Jim Henke), carried by JamBase — https://www.jambase.com/article/isaac-hayes-1942-2008 (primary source)
• Primary Wave Music (estate partner), “Isaac Hayes” — https://primarywave.com/artists/isaac-hayes/
• Wikipedia, “Isaac Hayes” — cross-checked against the above, October 2026

Record CTL-E-5269 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 4 sources (2 primary) · 2 mapped relationships · CTL research: PPL-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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