Isaac Hayes first came to prominence not as a performer or an artist in his own right, but as a staggeringly successful in-house songwriter, session player and producer for legendary Memphis-based Stax Records. The list of hit songs by other artists but with an Isaac Hayes writing credit is beyond impressive: “Soul Man,” “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” “B-A-B-Y,” “Wrap it Up,” and more than 30 other charting singles between 1966 and 1970.
So successful was Hayes that Stax gave him a record deal of his own. 1968’s Presenting Isaac Hayes was a commercial dud, but in retrospect, it hinted at Hayes’ future superstar status. Six of his next seven albums hit the #1 spot on the R&B chart (the other made it to #2), and underscoring his wide appeal, all seven of those LPs made it to the Top 20 on the mainstream album chart as well. His 1971 double-LP Shaft soundtrack also claimed #1 spot on the mainstream LP charts.
Among that nearly unprecedented tun of creative and commercial triumphs, Isaac Hayes’ most significant release was the audaciously-titled Black Moses. A double LP released in 1971, just a few months after Shaft), Black Moses was not only an exemplar of the man’s inimitable style, it was an artistic, cultural and sociopolitical statement from a Black man at the peak of his powers.
A renaissance man for the ages, Hayes could do it all. In addition to writing, arranging and producing, he played piano, organ, flute, saxophone, vibraphone and percussion. Though there were many Black artists in the late’ 60s and early ‘70s who deserved creative autonomy, Isaac Hayes was one of relatively few to demand and receive it.
For the latest installment of Citizen Vinyl’s talks, Asheville-based author and music journalist Bill Kopp will be joined by musician/rapper Davaion Bristol (Spaceman Jones) to spin select cuts from the 2LP Black Moses, and to lead a discussion about the music and its place in history. This special evening is an opportunity to peer into a musical window and revel in the creative output of one of the great and influential renaissance men of soul music, and of popular music in general.
👉 Refreshments will be available from Session Bar and Café who will offer the full menu until 9pm