Isaac Hayes

These things come in threes:

Bobby Murcer

Bernie Mac

Isaac Hayes

I guess four if you count Estelle Getty.

Isaac Hayes was one of the groundbreakers in the 1960s and early 1970s R&B and soul scene. He worked first at the old Stax/Volt label writing and arranging some of that label's greatest hits. Then he went on to a fairly compelling solo career. He and Curtis Mayfield wrote two of the really breakthrough movie scores of the 1970s, Hayes with Shaft, and Mayfield with Superfly. These went beyond the borderline "blaxploitation" films they were probably intended to be, and opened up new opportunities for greater diversity in this area. His Oscar for "Shaft" was the first Academy Award for an African-American in a non-acting category.

Then there's Chef. I thought his South Park character was a send-up of his earlier career, until I saw him perform live and realized every one of his songs is just like something he sang on South Park. He closed the last day of Jazz Festival three years ago, going about half an hour late due to equipment problems. "Shaft," his closer, was mesmerizing. Everyone got just as big a kick, though, when he sang "Chocolate Salty Balls" from South Park.

So, farewell Chef.