Isaac Hayes
Now a soul music icon and film and television star, Isaac Hayes was integral to the early development of Stax Records and the creation of the “Memphis Sound.”

Humble beginnings
Isaac Hayes was born to a poor sharecropper family in Covington, Tennessee, on August 20, 1942. Orphaned as an infant, he and his sister Willette were raised by their maternal grandparents. Poor economically, the close-knit family grew their own crops, had cattle and other livestock, ground their corn at the gristmill, and hunted for rabbits. Isaac’s earliest influences in music came from radio, mostly country music from Nashville’s “Grand Ole Opry.”

Early Struggles
At the age of seven, Hayes’ family moved to Memphis to seek new opportunities, and his grandfather found work in a tomato canning factory. But his health began to fail and he became disabled, and his grandfather died when Hayes was just 11 years old. Times were harder than ever for Hayes and his family, and he began picking cotton on the outskirts of Memphis, mowing lawns, delivering groceries and firewood, and even shining shoes on Beale Street. Later, he worked as a bus boy and dishwasher at a Memphis restaurant and eventually worked his way up to short-order cook.  

Early Career Direction
Isaac attended Manassas High School in Memphis, where he learned to play piano and horns, eventually performing at talent shows, in church, and with a group called the Teen Tones. Hayes learned a valuable lesson performing. “Here’s a poor kid, dressed in rags, holes in his shoes. All of a sudden, beautiful [older] girls are asking, ‘ooh, give me your autograph.’ I wanted to make a career in music then because of all the attention and everything.”

Behind Sam & Dave
Hayes graduated from Manassas in 1962, and, despite college scholarship offers, decided to stay home, get a job at a factory, and take care of his newborn baby. Isaac auditioned at Stax as part of the singing group the Ambassadors, and later, with the band Calvin and the Swing Cats. Neither one hit. But he continued to play, and became a regular session musician at Stax in 1964. His collaboration with David Porter commenced, as did a partnership with the singing duo Sam & Dave, and created Stax hits like “Hold On! I’m Coming,” “Soul Man,” and “When Something is Wrong with My Baby.”

Stax Big 6
Early on, Hayes spent most of his time in the studio and learned how to run a recording session. Because of his many contributions to a huge variety of Stax recordings as a producer, musician, and songwriter, Hayes and Porter joined with the members of Booker T. & the MGs as the Stax “Big 6,” a production partnership, where he remained a major influence on most Stax recordings released during the '60’s.

Superstar
In the late '60s Hayes evolved from the hardworking musical handyman behind the scenes at Stax, into a global icon, the label’s biggest seller and the most influential force in black music.   During this time his solo album Hot Buttered Soul (1969), the soundtrack of Shaft (1971), and solo project Black Moses (1972) were released, were sensational successes, and Hayes became the first African-American superstar.

Role Model
In addition to breaking new artistic ground, Hayes served as a role model for African-American men at the height of the Black Power movement. He recalled, “People were proud to be black. Black men could finally stand up and be men because here’s Black Moses and he’s the epitome of black masculinity. Chains that once represented bondage and slavery can now be a sign of power and strength.” Hayes played his “Black Moses” character in real life as a civil rights organizer.

Leader
Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis on April 4, 1968, Hayes became involved with the Black Knights to stand up for black Memphians in areas of discrimination and police brutality. After Memphis police killed a young black man in October 1971, Hayes took to the streets to help discourage riots from breaking out.

Humanitarian
Hayes became very active in humanitarian work in 1991, when he and Barry White shot a video for White’s Put Me In Your Mix LP in the Ivory Coast. A year later, the cultural minister of nearby Ghana invited Hayes and Dionne Warwick to visit that country and tour the Elmina slave castles. He was so moved by the experience that he felt he needed to do more work there. As he set about traveling across America speaking of the need for better education in Africa, Princess Naa Asie Ocansey of Ghana phoned Hayes and told him her father would like to make him a king, and in 1992 he was appointed in a large coronation ceremony and performed concerts in the country’s capital with Public Enemy. “It was my music that got me over to Ghana,” Hayes says, “But then they made me a king and gave me an island. It was a big thing, a big gathering, and they gave me the key and the title.” While most expected that Hayes would build a house on the island, he had other plans. After raising the funding and gathering sponsors, Hayes built an 8,000-square-foot-school, NekoTech, which opened in 1998 and focuses on literacy, education, computer technology, and other modern ways to help underprivileged young people in the region.

Indelible Soul
Isaac Hayes has received 7 Grammy nominations and received the 1972 Academy Award for best song in a motion picture for his “Theme from Shaft.” He remained on the Stax roster until the label’s financial collapse in 1975. He has since enjoyed great visibility with a role on the TV series South Park and a revival of interest in ‘70s culture. Isaac Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame in 2002.

Golden Stax
In December of 2006, Concord Music Group announced the 2007 kick-off of the reactivation of the Stax label which will include a series of deluxe reissues, special events and issuing new music with the first two signees being Stax legend Isaac Hayes and veteran contemporary soul singer Angie Stone; their albums are expected next fall.  Hayes plans to play an active role in the year-long celebration of Stax Records' 50th anniversary in 2007, particularly in his role as trustee of the Soulsville Foundation, a role he shares with his good friend David Porter, former Stax artists Steve Cropper of Booker T. & the MGs and Mavis Staples and pop sensation Sheryl Crowe.