A weekend of sad celebrity deaths continues with the news that Isaac Hayes, the legendary soul songwriter and singer, has died at the age of 65. CNN has the details. Hayes will forever be linked to his theme to the movie Shaft but his contributions to music hardly end there. For years prior to Shaft he served as a house songwriter for the mighty Memphis soul label Stax. The 1969 release of the solo album Hot Buttered Soul cemented his image as a smooth, intimidating creator of deep, funky grooves. Hayes also worked as an actor and enjoyed a late-career renaissance as the voice of "Chef" on South Park. (The A.V. Club spoke to Hayes in 2006.)
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