Shaft (album)
Encyclopedia
Shaft is a double album
by Isaac Hayes
, recorded for Stax Records
' Enterprise label as the soundtrack LP
for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
's 1971 Soul Cinema Classic
film Shaft
. The album mostly consists of instrumentals composed by Hayes as score for the film. Three vocal selections are included: "Soulsville", "Do Your Thing", and "Theme from Shaft
". A commercial and critical success, Shaft is Hayes' best-known work and the best-selling LP ever released on a Stax label.
cast him in the title role, but was not aware that Richard Roundtree
had already been cast as John Shaft. Hayes did appear in the film in a cameo role, but, more significantly, composed the film's score. While the film was still in production, Parks sent Hayes raw footage of some of the film's scenes, and Hayes wrote three pieces for the scenes: "Theme from Shaft" for the opening title sequence, "Soulsville" for a scene in which Shaft walks through Harlem, and "Ellie's Love Theme" for a love scene.
Pleased with the results, MGM hired Hayes to compose the rest of the score, and the musician spent two months working between tour dates on the score at the MGM studio. Once the score was composed and arranged, Hayes recorded the rhythm tracks with Stax band The Bar-Kays in one day. The orchestra
l tracks were recorded the next day, and the vocals the day after that. The songs were later re-recorded for the album at Stax Studios and slightly rearranged from their film versions: MGM's recording facility was based upon a three-track system, and Hayes wanted a richer sound for the album).
chart, with the former peaking at number one.
At the 1972 Grammy Awards, "Theme from Shaft" won the awards for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
and Best Instrumental Arrangement
. The film score as a whole won for Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically For A Motion Picture or for Television
. The National Association of Television and Radio Announcers gave Shaft its Album of the Year award. At the Academy Awards
that year, Hayes became the first African-American to win an Oscar for a non-acting category when "Theme from Shaft" won the award for Best Original Song
.
"Do Your Thing" was also a Top 40 Pop Single
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
by Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
, recorded for Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
' Enterprise label as the soundtrack LP
Soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television program. In some cases, not all the tracks from the movie are included in the album; however there are rare cases of songs in the trailers that do not appear in...
for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
's 1971 Soul Cinema Classic
Blaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
film Shaft
Shaft (1971 film)
Shaft is a 1971 American blaxploitation film directed by Gordon Parks, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. An action film with elements of film noir, Shaft tells the story of a black private detective, John Shaft, who travels through Harlem and to the Italian mob neighborhoods in order to find the...
. The album mostly consists of instrumentals composed by Hayes as score for the film. Three vocal selections are included: "Soulsville", "Do Your Thing", and "Theme from Shaft
Theme from Shaft
"Theme from Shaft", written and recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1971, is the soul and funk-styled theme song to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, Shaft...
". A commercial and critical success, Shaft is Hayes' best-known work and the best-selling LP ever released on a Stax label.
Conception
Hayes initially became involved with Shaft in hopes of having director Gordon ParksGordon Parks
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director...
cast him in the title role, but was not aware that Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
had already been cast as John Shaft. Hayes did appear in the film in a cameo role, but, more significantly, composed the film's score. While the film was still in production, Parks sent Hayes raw footage of some of the film's scenes, and Hayes wrote three pieces for the scenes: "Theme from Shaft" for the opening title sequence, "Soulsville" for a scene in which Shaft walks through Harlem, and "Ellie's Love Theme" for a love scene.
Pleased with the results, MGM hired Hayes to compose the rest of the score, and the musician spent two months working between tour dates on the score at the MGM studio. Once the score was composed and arranged, Hayes recorded the rhythm tracks with Stax band The Bar-Kays in one day. The orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l tracks were recorded the next day, and the vocals the day after that. The songs were later re-recorded for the album at Stax Studios and slightly rearranged from their film versions: MGM's recording facility was based upon a three-track system, and Hayes wanted a richer sound for the album).
Reception
Upon its release in the summer of 1971, Shaft became the first double album of original studio material released by an R&B artist. The album peaked at number one on The Billboard 200 chart, and spent sixty weeks on the chart. It took the top position on the Top R&B Albums chart for 14 weeks. Both "Theme from Shaft" and "Do Your Thing" became Top 40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, with the former peaking at number one.
At the 1972 Grammy Awards, "Theme from Shaft" won the awards for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical...
and Best Instrumental Arrangement
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement
The Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
. The film score as a whole won for Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically For A Motion Picture or for Television
Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
. The National Association of Television and Radio Announcers gave Shaft its Album of the Year award. At the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
that year, Hayes became the first African-American to win an Oscar for a non-acting category when "Theme from Shaft" won the award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
.
Side one
- "Theme from ShaftTheme from Shaft"Theme from Shaft", written and recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1971, is the soul and funk-styled theme song to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, Shaft...
" (Vocal Version) – 4:39 - "Bumpy's Lament" – 1:51
- "Walk from Regio's" – 2:24
- "Ellie's Love Theme" – 3:18
- "Shaft's Cab Ride" – 1:10
Side two
- "Cafe Regio's" – 6:10
- "Early Sunday Morning" – 3:49
- "Be Yourself" – 4:30
- "A Friend's Place" – 3:24
Side three
- "Soulsville" (Vocal Version) – 3:48
- "No Name Bar" – 6:11
- "Bumpy's Blues" – 4:04
- "Shaft Strikes Again" – 3:04
Credits
- Vocals, keyboards, lyrics and arrangement by Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
- Backing vocals by Pat LewisPat Lewis-Biography:Pat Lewis was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1951. In the early 60s, Pat, her sister Dianne, and two friends formed the group, The Adorables, who recorded a record and began singing backing vocals for Golden World Records...
, Rose Williams, and Telma HopkinsTelma HopkinsTelma Louise Hopkins is an American singer and television actress. A member of the 1970s pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn, she later starred in several television sitcoms, including Bosom Buddies, Gimme a Break!, Family Matters, Getting By, and Half & Half... - Instrumentation by The Bar-Kays and The Isaac Hayes Movement
- Electric pianoElectric pianoAn electric piano is an electric musical instrument.Electric pianos produce sounds mechanically and the sounds are turned into electrical signals by pickups. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument, but electro-mechanical. The earliest electric pianos were invented...
by Lester Snell - Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
by James AlexanderJames Alexander (musician)James Alexander is an American soul and R&B musician. He is a longtime member of the band The Bar-Kays, for which he plays bass guitar. He also is the father of noted hip-hop and R&B producer Phalon "Jazze Pha" Alexander, whom he named after his best friend and late Bar-Kays bandmate Phalon Jones... - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
by Charles PittsCharles PittsCharles "Skip" Pitts is an American soul / blues guitarist whose distinctive "wah-wah" style can be heard on Isaac Hayes' title track from the 1971 movie Shaft.... - GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
by Michael Toles - DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
by Willie HallWillie Hall (drummer)Willie "Too Big" Hall was born August 8, 1950, in Memphis, Tennessee. He began his career as a drummer in 1965, while still in high school. He played with the Bar-Kays band and Isaac Hayes's band The Movement... - CongaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
drums by Gary Jones - Lead Trumpet by Richard "Johnny" Davis
- FluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
by John Fonville
- Electric piano
Album
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
| Black Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
|
| Jazz Albums |
Singles
| Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| "Theme from Shaft" | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| Black Singles Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
2 | |
| Adult Contemporary Singles Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
6 |
Grammy Awards
- Shaft
- Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically For A Motion Picture or for TelevisionGrammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThe Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media has been awarded since 1960. Until 2001 the award was presented to the composer of the music alone. From 2001 to 2006, the producer and engineers shared in this award...
(Isaac Hayes)
- Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically For A Motion Picture or for Television
- "Theme from Shaft"
- Best Engineered Recording, Non-ClassicalGrammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-ClassicalThe Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Engineered Record - Non-Classical...
(Dave Purple, Henry Bush, Ron Capone) - Best Instrumental ArrangementGrammy Award for Best Instrumental ArrangementThe Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement has been awarded since 1963. The award is presented to the arranger of the music.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...
(Isaac Hayes, Johnny Allen)
- Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical
Later Samples
- "No Name Bar"
- "Soulja's Story" by 2Pac from the album 2Pacalypse Now2Pacalypse Now- Unused Tracks :* "Crooked Nigga Too" * "Tears Of A Clown" * "Scared Straight '91"...
- "Soulja's Story" by 2Pac from the album 2Pacalypse Now
- "Bumpy's Lament"
- "Xxplosive" by Dr. DreDr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
from the album 2001 - "Back At You" by Mobb DeepMobb DeepMobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery, as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones...
from the album Sunset Park (Soundtrack)Sunset Park (soundtrack)- Tracks :#High 'Til I Die - 2Pac#Motherless Child - Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon#Just Doggin - Tha Dogg Pound#Back at You - Mobb Deep#Are You Ready - Aaliyah#It's Alright - Groove Theory...
- "Xxplosive" by Dr. Dre
- "Walk from Regio's"
- "On the Double" by GrooveriderGrooveriderGrooverider is a British drum and bass DJ.-Biography:Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio...
from the album Mysteries of Funk
- "On the Double" by Grooverider
- "Do Your Thing"
- "Smooth Operator" by Big Daddy KaneBig Daddy KaneAntonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
from the album It's a Big Daddy ThingIt's a Big Daddy ThingIt's a Big Daddy Thing is the second full-length album by American rapper Big Daddy Kane. It was released on September 15, 1989.To date, it is his most successful effort commercially, certified gold by RIAA....
- "Smooth Operator" by Big Daddy Kane
See also
- List of number-one albums of 1971 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1971 (U.S.)