theme from shaft

Isaac Hayes only agreed to write this score for the classic blaxploitation film and his biggest hit when the producer agreed to let him audition for the title role. He didn't get the part; but he did get a cameo. Director Gordon Parks told how him he had to set the scene with the music. Hayes recalls: "The character Shaft was explained to me: a relentless character always on the prowl, always on the move. I had to create something to denote that. Otis Redding's 'Try A Little Tenderness,' I had a hand in arranging that. At the end, Al Jackson was doing some stuff on a hi-hat, and I thought if I sustained that kind of thing on a hi-hat, it would give a relentless, dramatic effect, and it worked."

Telma Hopkins and Joyce Wilson were the backup singers; who also performed as Tony Orlando's backup group Dawn. The band was The Bar-Kays. who had been Otis Redding's backup band. Willie Hall plays the sixteenth-note hi-hat and Charles Pitts does the funky guitar. Hayes plays the synthesizer.

It wasn't supposed to be a single, but the success of the film and the popularity of the track in nightclubs led to a shortened version (that kept the extended instrumental intro) being released on Enterprise Records two months after the soundtrack. 'Theme from Shaft' went to number one in the US, as did the entire soundtrack album. The song also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making Hayes the first African American to win that honor; but also becoming the first recipient of the award to both write and perform the winning song. It was a huge influence on soul, funk, and disco.








https://isaachayes.com/

Shaft

Who's the black private dick

that's a sex machine to all the chicks?

(Shaft!)

You're damn right

Who is the man

that would risk his neck for his brother man?

(Shaft!)

Can ya dig it?

Who's the cat that won't cop out

when there's danger all about

(Shaft!)

Right on

You see this cat Shaft is a bad mother--

(Shut your mouth)

But I'm talkin' about Shaft

(Then we can dig it)

He's a complicated man

but no one understands him but his woman

(John Shaft)