Editing Isaac Hayes (section)

===1963–1974: Stax Records and ''Shaft''===
[[File:Issac Hayes 1971 press photo.jpg|thumb|Hayes in 1969]]
[[File:Stax Records, Memphis, TN, US (27).jpg|thumb|1972 Academy award for "[[Theme from Shaft|Theme from ''Shaft'']]"]]
Hayes began his recording career in the early 1960s, as a session musician for acts recorded by the Memphis-based [[Stax Records]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://staxrecords.com/spotlight/isaac-hayes/|title=Isaac Hayes|access-date=October 16, 2021|website=staxrecords.com}}</ref> He later wrote a string of hit songs with songwriting partner [[David Porter (musician)|David Porter]], including "You Don't Know Like I Know," "[[Soul Man (song)|Soul Man]],"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/15/arts/music/isaac-hayes-band-bar-kays.html|title=Meet the Musicians Who Gave Isaac Hayes His Groove (Published 2017)|first=Sean|last=Howe|date=November 15, 2017|access-date=February 23, 2021|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> "[[When Something Is Wrong with My Baby]]" and [[Hold On, I'm A Comin'|"Hold On, I'm Comin']]" for [[Sam & Dave]]. Hayes, Porter and Stax studio band [[Booker T. & the M.G.'s]] were also the producers for Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas and other Stax artists during the mid-1960s. One of the first Stax records Hayes played on was "Winter Snow" by Booker T. and The M.G.s (Stax 45–236), which indicates "Introducing Isaac Hayes on piano" on the label.

Hayes-Porter contributed to the Stax sound of this period, and Sam & Dave credited Hayes for helping develop both their sound and style. In 1968, Hayes released his debut album, ''[[Presenting Isaac Hayes]]'', a jazzy, largely improvised effort that was commercially unsuccessful.<ref name="contact">"[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/isaachayesx18x10x05 Ultimate Isaac Hayes (Can You Dig It?), Audio] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606114233/http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/webpages/isaachayesx18x10x05 |date=June 6, 2011 }}". ''Contactmusic.com''. Retrieved March 15, 2008.</ref>

Stax then went through a major upheaval, losing its biggest star when [[Otis Redding]] died in a plane crash in December 1967, and then losing its back catalog to [[Atlantic Records]] in May 1968. As a result, Stax executive vice president [[Al Bell]] called for 27 new albums to be completed in mid-1969; Hayes's second album, ''Hot Buttered Soul'' was the most successful of these releases.<ref name="contact"/>

On ''Hot Buttered Soul'', Hayes reinterpreted "[[Walk On By (song)|Walk On By]]" (previously recorded by Dionne Warwick) into a 12-minute exploration. "[[By the Time I Get to Phoenix]]" starts with an eight-minute-long monologue<ref>{{cite web|url=http://perthetic.wordpress.com/2008/08/12/rip-isaac-hayes|title=RIP Isaac Hayes|publisher=Perthetic.wordpress.com|date=August 12, 2008|access-date=September 11, 2010}}</ref> before breaking into song, and the lone original number, the funky "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" runs nearly ten minutes, a significant break from the standard three-minute soul/pop songs. "Walk On By" would be the first of many times Hayes would take a [[Burt Bacharach]] standard, generally known as three-minute pop songs by Dionne Warwick or [[Dusty Springfield]], and transform it into a soulful, lengthy and almost [[gospel music|gospel]] number.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

In 1970, Hayes released two albums, ''[[The Isaac Hayes Movement]]'' and ''[[...To Be Continued (Isaac Hayes album)|...To Be Continued]]''. The former stuck to the four-song template of his previous album. [[Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler's]] "I Stand Accused" begins with a trademark spoken word monologue, and Bacharach's "[[I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself]]" is re-worked.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}} The latter album included "[[The Look of Love (1967 song)#Notable cover versions|The Look of Love]]," another Bacharach song transformed into an 11-minute epic of lush orchestral rhythm (mid-way it breaks into a rhythm guitar jam for a couple of minutes before suddenly resuming the slow love song). An edited three-minute version was issued as a single.<ref name="discography"/> The album featured the instrumental "Ike's Mood," which segues into a version of "[[You've Lost That Loving Feeling]]." Hayes released a Christmas single, "The Mistletoe and Me" (with "Winter Snow" as a [[B-side]]).{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}

In early 1971, Hayes composed music for the [[Shaft (Isaac Hayes album)|soundtrack]] of the [[blaxploitation]] film ''[[Shaft (1971 film)|Shaft]]'' (he appeared in a cameo role as a bartender). The title theme, with its [[Wah-wah pedal|wah-wah guitar]] and multi-layered [[symphonic]] arrangement, would become a worldwide hit single, and spent two weeks at number one in the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in November. The remainder of the album was mostly instrumentals covering big beat jazz, bluesy funk, and hard Stax-styled soul. The other two vocal songs, the [[social commentary]] "Soulsville" and the 19-minute jam "Do Your Thing," would be edited down to hit singles.<ref name="discography">[http://staxrecords.free.fr/hayes.htm Isaac Hayes Discography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150804084753/http://staxrecords.free.fr/hayes.htm|date=August 4, 2015}}, staxrecords.free.fr; retrieved March 15, 2008.</ref> He won an "[[Academy Award for Best Original Song]]" for the [[Theme from Shaft|"Theme from ''Shaft'']]," and in addition was nominated for Best Original Dramatic Score. Later in the year, Hayes released a double album, ''Black Moses'', that expanded on his earlier sounds and featured [[The Jackson 5]]'s song "[[Never Can Say Goodbye]]." Another single, "I Can't Help It," was not featured on the album.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}
[[File:Isaac hayes 1973.jpg|thumb|1973 photo of Hayes taken by [[John H. White (photojournalist)|John H. White]]]]
In 1972, Hayes would record the theme tune for the television series ''[[The Men (TV series)|The Men]]'' and release a hit single (with "Type Thang" as a B-side).<ref name="discography" /> He released a couple of other non-album singles during the year, such as "[[(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right|If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)]]" and "Rolling Down a Mountainside." Atlantic would re-release Hayes's debut album this year with the new title ''In The Beginning''.<ref>[http://www.musicstack.com/album/isaac_hayes/in_the_beginning_-_atlantic MusicStack] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233407/http://www.musicstack.com/album/isaac_hayes/in_the_beginning_-_atlantic|date=March 3, 2016}} entries for ''In the Beginning'' show that the LP's contents are identical to those of ''[[Presenting Isaac Hayes]]''.</ref>

Hayes was back in 1973 with an acclaimed live double album, ''[[Live at the Sahara Tahoe]]'', and followed it up with the album ''[[Joy (Isaac Hayes album)|Joy]]''. He moved away from cover songs with this album. An edited version of the title track would be a hit single.<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p83140|pure_url=yes}} Isaac Hayes ''Billboard'' chart history]. Allmusic.com; retrieved March 15, 2008.</ref>

In 1974, Hayes was featured in the blaxploitation films ''[[Three Tough Guys]]'' and ''[[Truck Turner]]'', and he recorded soundtracks for both. ''Tough Guys'' was almost devoid of vocals and ''Truck Turner'' yielded a single with the title theme. The soundtrack score of ''Truck Turner'' was eventually used by filmmaker [[Quentin Tarantino]] in the ''[[Kill Bill]]'' film series, and has been used for over 30 years as the opening score of Brazilian radio show ''Jornal de Esportes'' on the [[Jovem Pan]] station.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

Unlike most African American musicians of the period, Hayes did not sport an [[Afro]] haircut; his bald head became one of his defining characteristics.{{citation needed|date=December 2017}}