MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Legendary soul musician and songwriter Isaac Hayes was found dead on Sunday at his home in Memphis, Tenn. He was 65.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Legendary soul musician and songwriter Isaac Hayes was found dead on Sunday at his home in Memphis, Tenn. He was 65.
According to the Associated Press, an unresponsive Hayes was discovered near a treadmill in the afternoon by his wife, young son and his wife’s cousin, who had just returned home from a visit to the grocery store. He was pronounced dead an hour later at Baptist East Hospital in Memphis, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office told AP. The cause of his death was not immediately known.
“The treadmill was running but he was unresponsive lying on the floor,” Steve Shular, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, told AP.
Born in Covington, Tenn., Hayes rose to fame in 1969 with the soul album “Hot Buttered Soul.” He would strike gold two years later with “Theme From Shaft,” a No. 1 track from a film starring Richard Roundtree. In addition to winning a Grammy, the song won an Academy Award, allowing Hayes to become the first African-American songwriter to nab the coveted Best Original Song Oscar.
The self-taught musician, who won a ninth grade talent competition with his rendition of Nat King Cole’s “Looking Back,” would later win another Grammy for his 1972 album “Black Moses.”
More recently, Hayes was the voice of the “South Park” character Chef. However, he abruptly quit the show in 2006 after an episode mocked his Scientology beliefs.
In addition to “South Park,” Hayes appeared in several TV shows and movies over the years, including the features “It Could Happen to You,” “Reindeer Games” and “I’m Gonna Git You, Sucka.”
Hayes, who was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, married his wife, Adjowa, in 2005. They welcomed their son, Nana Kwadjo Hayes, one year later.
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