ISAAC HAYES, 1943-2008: Soul icon Isaac Hayes, who became the first black superstar in the field of pop music in the early Seventies with his "urban-contemporary" style paving the way for disco later in the decade, was found dead on the afternoon of Aug. 9 near a running treadmill at his Memphis home. He was 65. The cause of death was not immediately known. Hayes, who became famous for his extravagant public persona as the "richest, fattest, most extravagant black cat of them all," was one of the dominant black artists in the early 1970s, with his music being of secondary importance. Born in Covington, Tenn., on Aug. 20, 1943, Hayes was brought up in conditions of poverty as an orphan on his granparents' sharecropper farm near Memphis. He worked several manual labor jobs as a teen while trying to further a career in music with a part-time group, Sir Isaac and the Doodads. Becoming proficient both on keybaords and the saxophone, Hayes eventually integrated himself into the circles of Memphis' legendary Stax Records session musicians and became one of the leading musicians there. Hayes played piano on most of Otis Redding's Stax sessions and, with songwriting partner David Porter, composed such classic songs for the Stax duo Sam and Dave as "Soul Man," "Hold On, I'm Comin'," and "You Don't Know Like I Know." Now a full-fledged Stax producer, Hayes began his own recording career on Stax's Enterprise label in 1967 with his album Presenting Isaac Hayes. In 1969, he released his Hot Buttered Soul album, which rose to #8 on the Billboard Hot 200 pop album chart. Recorded to help Stax reach a quota of 30 albums for a new promotional campaign, Hot Buttered Soul catapulted him to fame and became a model for his future output, showcasing his own bombastic interpretations of familiar songs such as Glen Campbell's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." Hayes practically invented orchestral soul and took the genre to its wildest, most self-parodying extremes. Hot Buttered Soul turned platinum by the end of the next year, as did his next five albums, and his stature was further increased when he was asked to score the soundtrack (#1 pop, #1 R&B) of the 1971 movie Shaft, the archetype of the '70s "blaxploitation" flicks. His "Theme from Shaft" earned him an Oscar and became the first seminal music composition of the '70s, and the musician flaunted his success with opulent stage shows that had much in common with the decadence of imperial ancient Rome. Dressed in gold and black, in gold chains, shaved-headed and supported by a 40-piece orchestra and an entourage of beautiful girls, Hayes' stage show was pure theatrics, and entirely successful. He became known as the "Black Moses," and accordingly he released a #10 pop album of the same name in late 1971. Striking while the iron was hot, Hayes released nine albums in the four years from 1969-73, gaining as much mileage as possible from musical ideas which at their best were very inventive, and at their worst crassly self-indulgent. By the mid-'70s, however, his success was beginning to wane, and in 1974 he released two film soundtracks -- Tough Guys and Truck Turner -- and had a starring role in the latter film (his other movie credits include It Could Happen to You with Nicolas Cage, Ninth Street with Martin Sheen, Reindeer Games starring Ben Affleck and the blaxploitation parody I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka). In 1975, he moved from the faltering Stax label, which would eventually go bankrupt and cause him to lose all his songwriting royalties, to ABC Records over a royalty dispute and released five generally lukewarmly-received records for the label through a 1977 duet with Dionne Warwick, A Man and a Woman. The slow decline continued with a late '77 move to Polydor, where he recorded five albums for their imprint. In his later years, Hayes reached a new audience by supplying the voice for Chef, the libidinous sage on the popular irreverent Comedy Channel cartoon series South Park. But he left the show in 2006 because he disagreed with its attacks on Scientology, the religious movement to which he belonged. Hayes also did the song "Two Cool Guys" on the Beavis and Butt-Head Do America movie soundtrack in 1996, was the voice of Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" late-night programming, and had radio shows in New York City (1996 to 2002) and then in Memphis. Hayes, who recently described himself as a "health fanatic," had suffered a stroke in early 2007. He is survived by his wife, Adjowa. - Reuters/AP/Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, 8/10/08.
The soundtrack of the hit Abba-inspired movie Mamma Mia! has reached the top of Billboard's Hot 200 album chart, after being released five weeks ago. The CD has moved 130,000 copies in the U.S. The release has also climbed to the top of Billboard Top Internet Albums and Top Soundtracks charts, while the original cast recording of the original "Mamma Mia!" stage musical continues to sit atop the Top Cast Albums chart for a third week. - Billboard
Cast members of the popular 1978-91 prime-time soap opera Dallas will gather for a 30th anniversary Dallas reunion at the show's setting, the Southfork Ranch north of Dallas, on Nov. 8. Several key actors, including Larry Hagman, Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy, have confirmed they will attend. "I may not be able to do the 40th," said Hagman, 76, in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. "Thirty years is pretty good, and the show is still very popular." The reunion at the ranch in suburban Parker, north of Dallas, is open to the public. Tickets go on sale Aug. 22 and will cost between $100 and $1,000. The event will include fireworks, a country music concert, a question-and-answer session with the cast and tours of the mansion. Meanwhile, CBS is looking to update its classic 1968-80 detective show Hawaii Five-O. The update is being written by Criminal Minds exec producer Ed Bernero, who says the iconic Ventures theme song will stay, but the main character will be Chris McGarret, who's following in the footsteps of his father Steve (Jack Lord in the original) as head of a Hawaii state police unit. And, like the original, Bernero says the show would shoot on location in Hawaii. In still more classic TV news, reruns of the country music-based comedy-variety series Hee Haw will begin airing at 8:00 p.m. EDT on the cable channel RFD-TV. Hee Haw originally aired on CBS for its first two years beginning in 1969, then in first-run syndication for two decades. Reruns aired on the old Nashville Network cable station from 1994 to 1997 and briefly on CMT in 2006. - AP/Zap2It.com
To celebrate his upcoming 50th birthday, Michael Jackson will release an 18-track greatest hits album, and British fans are being solicited to pick their favorite Jackson tracks from a 50-song list on the website of the British paper The Sun. The album, entitled King of Pop, will be released in the UK on Aug. 25.
The members of the Jackson 5 will be honored as BMI Icons at the organization's annual Urban Awards, set for Sept. 4 at the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills, Calif. An all-star tribute to the group, which was comprised of Michael, Marlon, Jackie, Tito and Jermaine Jackson, is also planned. So far, all the brothers with the exception of Michael have confirmed their attendance at the event. Both the original Jackson 5 as well as their post-1976 incarnation the Jacksons -- which replaced Jermaine with brother Randy Jackson -- will be honored. The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. The last album that featured all Jackson brothers in some form was in 1989 and they haven't performed together in years. - AP Former Mork & Mindy star Robin Williams will kick off his first stand-up comedy tour in six years on Sept. 25 in Minneapolis. Williams' "Weapons of Self-Destruction Tour" will also visit such cities as Chicago (9/26, 27); Milwaukee (9/28); Detroit (10/3); Cleveland, Oh. (10/10); Cincinnati (10/11); Baltimore (10/23); and Philadelphia (10/29-31). The 20-city jaunt wraps with a two-night stand on Nov. 24 and 25 in Boston. In recent years, the famously animated funnyman did a stint in rehab and a split this year from his wife of 19 years, Marsha. - USA Today......
A remake of 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show is being planned by MTV. Lou Adler, exec producer of the original film, is partnering with BermanBraun and Fox Television Studios on the new Rocky Horror, and Adler says he'd "like to see it shown a year from this coming Halloween, but that's up to MTV." The original Rocky Horror, starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick and Meatloaf, has grossed $140 million in domestic box office over the years, primarily from an audience of youthful fans who have shown up for midnight screenings over the past three decades. - Variety
Hometown: Richland Center, WI...about 60 miles NW of Madison. What group were you a part of in high school: I pretty much hung out with all groups. I hated cliques. But, if I had to pick one, I was a jock...Football, Basketball & Track. What was your favorite high school moment: Graduation! Who was your first love: Linda Carter as Wonder Woman...Foxy! What was the first concert you went to: Jimmy Buffett. Hard to beat a good cheeseburger in paradise. What was the first album you purchased yourself: The Eagles Greatest Hits. What is your favorite album/song: For a guy that owns thousands of 45's, albums and CD's, that's a pretty tough question! What is your favorite band: Favorite album/song...that's a toughy. If I had to pick one, which apparently I do, I would say that my favorite album is AC/DC Live 2 cd collector's Edition. Favorite song: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. What words of wisdom have stuck with you since the 60s & 70s: Use the Force! What was your favorite 60s & 70s fad: Free love baby! If you could bring back one thing from the 60s & 70s, what would it be: Muscle cars without the high gas prices. Preferably a mint condition 1971 Hemi Barracuda. It would fit very nicely in my garage.
Saturday 08-09-2008 12:37pm CT
Welcome to the Disco Party photo gallery! (send photos of your latest disco party to me at chadwest@957fm.com so I can show the world!)
The fashion influence of Sixties hippies was mainstreamed in the Seventies, as men sported shoulder length hair and non-traditional clothing became the rage, including bellbottom pants, hip huggers, colorful patches, hot pants, platform shoes, earth shoes, clogs, T-shirts, and gypsy dresses. Knits and denims were the fabrics of choice. Leisure suits for men became commonplace, and women were fashionable in everything from ankle-length grandmother dresses to hot pants and micro-miniskirts. The movie Annie Hall (1977) even inspired a fashion trend with women sporting traditional men's clothing such as derby hats, tweed jackets, and neckties worn with baggy pants or skirts.
© 2008