Biography
Isaac Hayes (1942–2008) was an American actor, singer, songwriter and composer. He grew up in Covington, Tennessee, and began his career as a session musician and songwriter at Stax Records in the mid-1960s, later becoming a recording artist with albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969).
Hayes appeared in films including Escape from New York (1981) as the Duke of New York and provided the voice of Chef in the animated series South Park (1997–2006) and its 1999 film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. He composed the score for Shaft (1971), winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song for its theme.
He received further recognition as a songwriter, with induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.
