Isaac Hayes -- Theme from "Shaft"

 

Writing the blog over the past couple of weeks, we've lost a few stars on either side of the Pacific. Stateside, Suzanne Somers passed away last week which I noted in the previous ROY article, and a couple of days ago, actor Richard Roundtree died at the age of 81. Roundtree played a lot of roles since 1970 in films and TV shows, but he will always be known as John Shaft, the private detective who was "...hotter than Bond, cooler than Bullitt". Roundtree and that movie were tied to each other at the hip, and I remember Eddie Murphy forever referencing him in his comedy routines on "Saturday Night Live" back in the 1980s.

I've only seen a few scenes of the original 1971 movie but I've only needed to see the first five minutes to find out what Shaft the detective was like. He walked through one of the most dangerous cities in America as if he intimidated it rather than vice versa. And that was one weaponized theme song for him by the late Isaac Hayes. Interestingly enough, the first time that I heard the funk-and-disco classic wasn't through the movie but when I was watching some kind of TV program where a bunch of scantily-clad female dancers were strutting their stuff to it. It worked for me but it didn't work for my parents who promptly yelled at me to get to bed immediately. 

Perhaps to one generation, Hayes will always be famous for his role as Chef on "South Park", but for me, he's the guy who made and sung "Shaft" with his backup singers. The velvety tones of Hayes, the wacka-wacka guitar riff and then the rapid-fire bullets of horns near the end are what has made the song for me. It was released as a single in September 1971 and hit No. 1 in both the United States and Canada. It also won Hayes an Oscar for Best Original Song and a couple of Grammys.

This time around, I could only find one song that was released in the same month as the theme from "Shaft". My condolences to Roundtree's family, friends and fans.

Feifei Ouyang -- Ame no Midosuji （雨の御堂筋）