Theme from Shaft

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Theme from Shaft
  DE 35 02/28/1972 (2 weeks)
  UK 4th December 4th, 1971 (12 weeks)
  US 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 10/16/1971 (13 weeks)

Theme from Shaft (Shaft also Theme) is an instrumental of Isaac Hayes from the year 1971 , which was written by him and produced. It is a soundtrack to the film Shaft and is therefore also included on the soundtrack album of the same name .

history

In an interview with National Public Radio in 2000 , Hayes said he would have agreed to write and compose Shaft if the film's producer, Joel Freeman, got him an audition for the lead role. Hayes never got a chance to audition, but still provided the soundtrack. For the soundtrack, director Gordon Parks asked Hayes that he should respond to the protagonist John Shaft (the line "the" Who's the black private dick, That's a sex machine to all the chicks? "German: Who is the black private detective and the sex machine for all women?) Hayes first recorded the instrumental part and shortly before the end sang the reduced text passages with the background singers.

The song begins with a hi-hat solo played in sixteenth notes played by Willie Hall, who is also responsible for the break in Otis Redding's Try a Little Tenderness . This was followed by the guitar solo played by Charles Pitts, which included the radio- type damper effect in the 1970s ; which was originally intended for another song. Hayes played the synthesizer himself. The arrangement was made by Hayes and Johnny Allen.

The greatly reduced lines of text define John Shaft's coolness, courage and sex appeal, which were sung by Isaac Hayes, while the background singers can be heard from time to time. In one line Hayes emphasizes “a bad mother” (German: “a bad mother”), followed by the background singers vulgarly with “Shut yo 'mouth!” (German: Shut your mouth!), Hayes gives in by saying "only about Shaft" (the line: "only talking about Shaft") and then the background singers sing: "We can dig it." (German: Let's forget it.). The line: “You're damn right!” (German: You're damn right!) also sung by Hayes like: "He's a complicated man / but no one understands him / but his woman / John Shaft." (German: He's a complicated man who nobody understands except his wife / John Shaft; the latter sung after the hyphen by the background singers) made the song on the Billboard Hot 100 the first song that contains a swear word.

The song was very daring for its time, so in 1991 the Fox Broadcasting Company censored the scene in which Bart and Lisa sing the song in the Simpsons episode The 24-Hour Deadline .

Originally, the release of the Shaft theme was not planned until the success of the film changed that and it was therefore often heard in nightclubs at the time. The song had a strong influence on disco and soul music in the 1970s . The publication was on September 30, 1971.

At the 1972 Academy Awards , the Shaft Theme won the Best Song category , with Hayes wearing a tuxedo instead of his trademark chain mail. He dedicated the award to his grandmother, Rushia Wade, who accompanied him to the stage to accept the award.

Later that year, Hayes played the Shaft Theme live at the Wattstax Music Festival . Mel Stuart shot the documentary for the concert , in which Hayes' appearance had to be censored due to legal differences with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (who released the film) and the soundtrack was not allowed to be used in other films until 1976. In 2003 the documentary was remastered and Hayes' appearance was added.

Cover versions

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chart statistics for Theme from Shaft on chartsurfer.de
  2. ↑ a b c NPR , "The NPR 100," December 21, 2000. Radio program. ( npr.org . Retrieved September 9, 2006).
  3. ↑ Al Jean . (2002). The Simpsons: The Complete Second Season, "The 24 Hour Deadline" commentary track  [DVD]. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
  4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B / Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004 . Record Research, 2004, p. 249 .
  5. ^ Rob Bowman: Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records. Schirmer Trade, New York 1997, ISBN 0-8256-7284-8 , pp. 229-233.
  6. ^ A b Rob Bowman, D. Chuck: Audio commentary track for Wattstax . Saul Zaentz Company and Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., Los Angeles 2004.