A mix i recorded paying tribute to some of the great mans music, including loads of best songs, plus many more he wrote for the Stax team. It also includes many of the hip-hop and r&b tracks that sampled his work.

Here's a piece I wrote for last weeks Cork Evening Echo, it can also be found on my blog, alongside a tribute to another legend, Jerry Wexler, at
http://steviegblog.blogspot.com

A few years ago, after the death of Barry White, I remember doing a
radio tribute to the soul star in which I was at pains to stress he
was a lot more than
the stereotypical love walrus that much of his later work
portrayed. It’s a similar story really to Isaac Hayes, who passed
away last weekend after an
eventful and rewarding life. Yes, he was another ladies man and he
helped mould that image himself; but there was so much more to
Isaac Hayes, and
as always it takes a mans passing for his impact to be assessed properly.
The notoriety in later years and subsequent
controversy with his role as Chef in Southpark garnered a lot of
the attention this week, and it is
fair to say that Isaac’s roles as actor and of course soundtrack
artist were important in his career, but a closer look reveals he
was much more. His role
in the Civil rights movement was very important and at a crucial
time in black America Isaac Hayes used his fame and fortune for
very good uses, as his
people made important strides that we sometimes take for granted
these days. A lot of this activism dovetailed with his movies but
years later, long
before his Southpark fame rehabilitation, he became very involved
in other humanitarian causes too, particularly in Africa.
But it all goes back to his music really. Even in
later years he hosted an evening 5-hour radio show and Isaac Hayes
had the music in him from
the start. Replacing the legendary Booker T as Stax session player
in one of the most important rhythm sections in popular music, he
was thrown in at
the deep end but swam better than nearly anyone. Alongside David
Porter he established one of the truly dynamic song writing and
arranging duos, and
the hits and recognition came without much delay. Sam and Dave were
particular beneficiaries, as Stax became the grittier and more
street orientated
brother of the similarly massive Motown.
Isaac Hayes soon achieved immense solo success
aswell, “Hot Buttered Soul” was an extravagant album that was huge
at the time, but “Shaft”
and the Grammy’s and the big time soon followed as his career
rarely missed a step before it all went bad and Stax went bust.
Like many other Afro-
American music legends, he was at relatively low ebb by the mid
80’s, with the high points of the previous decade a distant memory.
He was always
held in high esteem by music fans though, and like James Brown and
other soul men he became a staple and important symbol of the new
hip-hop
generation.
His dress sense and attitude predicted hip-hop years
before it happened, but his rich sweeping music arrangements did
even more. The Wu
Tang Clan, Biz Markie, Portishead, Massive Attack and Public Enemy
were just a few who took his template and made something new, catch
some of
these sample. Rest in Peace brother.