If he had lived, Isaac Hayes, the singer, songwriter restaurateur and philanthropist known as Black Moses, would be 68 today.
In his home state of Tennessee, family, friends, preachers and politicians will gather to dedicate a stretch of Interstate 40 in memory of the man whose deep rich voice, musical genius and unselfish generosity touched millions. It will be called the Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway.
“This is a tribute to his legacy,” David Porter, who, in the 1960s, began writing and producing music with Hayes, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “People here still remember him and all that he has done.”
The support in the Tennessee General Assembly for the Isaac Hayes Memorial Highway is an indication of the impact the smooth-singing and soulful Hayes had on the state, Porter said.
Earlier this year, House Bill 3471/Senate Bill 3345 to rename the highway passed unanimously, said Tim Sampson, communications director for the Soulsville Foundation and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis. Gov. Phil Bredesen signed it into law.
Highway signs will be unveiled during the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. at Hayes’ gravesite at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery in Memphis. Simultaneously, a sign will be unveiled on the highway, Sampson said.
Acclaimed saxophonist Kirk Whalum, who is now CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, will emcee the ceremony, which will feature several speakers, including Porter and Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton.
Members of Hayes’ family are also scheduled to attend the ceremony, Phillip Hamilton, service director at the cemetery, told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
“I want to thank the Tennessee General Assembly and particularly Speaker Naifeh for this great honor for my father,” Hayes’ daughter, Jacqueline Fields, said in a prepared statement. Hayes’ longtime friend Jimmy Naifeh, speaker emeritus in the House, helped guide the bill through the General Assembly.
“I can’t think of a better way to honor his memory, and to have this part of I-40 in Shelby County named after him in the city that he loved so much is very moving for all of my brothers and sisters and me,” Fields said.
Hayes died Aug. 10, 2008. He was discovered in his home next to his still-running treadmill, authorities said.
In his lifetime, Hayes won an Oscar and three Grammys, and in 2002, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In addition to Hayes, artists such as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Al Green and many more came through Stax Records, which is now remembered through a museum, foundation and charter school.
The label was forced to shut its doors in 1975 (before being reactivited in 2004), but Hayes didn’t stop making music, and he branched out more into movies and television.
His music still stirs memories, Porter said.
“When I first met him, we were teens. He had a group called the Teen Tones. I had a group called the Marquettes,” Porter said. “We were competitors. On Wednesday nights, we competed on the talent show on Beale Street. The first place prize was $5.”
Porter was the first staff writer at Stax, and when he had a song with a strong bass vocal line, he knew exactly where to go – Isaac Hayes.
The two, he said, enjoyed creating good music.
“We developed a friendship that lasted,” Porter said.
