Isaac Hayes Isaac Hayes, the singer and songwriter whose luxurious career included arrangements in songs like "Theme From 'Shaft'" died on Sunday in East Memphis, Tenn. He was 65.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office said that Hayes's wife, Adjowa, found him collapsed near a treadmill at their home in Cordova, an eastern suburb of Memphis, and he was pronounced dead an hour later.

The "Shaft" theme won an Academy Award and has become one of Hayes' bestknown songs. In the 1960s and into the '70s, Hayes was one of the principal songwriters and performers for Stax Records, the trailblazing Memphis R&B label, and in the 1990s he revived his career by providing the voice for the amorous and wise Chef on the cable television show "South Park."