Song of the Day 8/26: Isaac Hayes, “Theme From Shaft”

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

If you have anything bad to say about Isaac Hayes’ “Shaft,” there can be only one response: Shut yo mouth. We’re talking ’bout Shaft. John Shaft.

And we’re talking about “Shaft,” the exhilarating orchestral funk song, and “Shaft,” the 1971 “blaxploitation” movie.

These movies turned previously ignored black actors into action heroes who stuck it to the man. They lived in a world of drugs and guns and pimps, which some high-minded critics (mainly black ones) thought demeaning to black culture. Black moviegoers either didn’t agree or didn’t care.

Hayes, already a hitmaker at Stax, was recruited to write the soundtrack. He also wanted to play the title character, but Richard Roundtree got that job.

The title song came first, and Hayes wasn’t quite sure how to do it. Director Gordon Parks came to the rescue. Hayes recalled him saying, “Just remember, when you write the music zero in on the main character, on his personality. He’s a roving kind of character. He’s relentless, and your music has to depict that.”

The result was a song that influenced much of the great funk and soul music that followed in the ’70s, from Marvin Gaye to Gamble and Huff. It’s sometimes called the first disco song of the decade.

“Shaft “also set the template for the onslaught of blaxploitation movies and soundtracks that soon hit the scene. Curtis Mayfield wrote the soundtrack for “Superfly,” Marvin Gaye for “Trouble Man,” Roy Ayers for “Coffy,” which starred Pam Grier, the rare female badass. Bobby Womack wrote the title track for “Across 110th Street,” which Quentin Tarantino used in his 1997 homage “Jackie Brown.”

The opening scene of “Shaft” perfectly captures the feel of blaxploitation movies with an edgy, gloomy-looking New York City and lots of wah-wah.

Here’s an enthusiastic live version with an orchestra led by Mr. Hayes himself. It was performed at the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.