Isaac Hayes: Remembering Soulsville's Main Man
fromWXPN
Isaac Hayes.
Isaac Hayes, the legendary soul singer and composer, died Sunday in Memphis, Tenn. He was 65. WXPN offers this archival interview in remembrance.
To celebrate the opening of the Stax Museum in Memphis, Tenn., soul singer Isaac Hayes gave an interview with World Cafe's David Dye in May 2003. According to Hayes, it took a few tries before the Stax label would sign him. But when it did, Hayes not only made gold records, but also gave the area its name: Soulsville.
"The song might have come first," Hayes said in the interview. "But the song represented any black community."
Hayes also discussed the Soulsville music education program, the early history of Stax and how he lost the acting role of Shaft, but still left his mark on the movie's soundtrack.
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