Remembering Isaac Hayes: Cooking with Heart & Soul

The legendary musician and personality Isaac Hayes passed away this week. An accomplished musician, singer, and songwriter, he is probably best remembered for his Oscar-winning song, Theme from Shaft (Hayes was the first African-American Oscar winner for any category outside of acting). He was also widely recognized for his work as the voice of "Chef" on the long-running animated series, South Park. Hayes got his start at Stax Records in Memphis (see the cool@hoole entry on Stax and Eddie Floyd) working as a session musician, but soon stood out as a songwriter and performer.

The item featured here is representative of another side of Isaac Hayes -- as a man who knew his way around the kitchen and loved to share his love of food with family and friends. This cookbook, Cooking With Heart & Soul (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2000) is part of the David Walker Lupton African American Cookbook Collection housed at the Hoole Special Collections Library, and just one of the many cookbooks by celebrity chefs. They are remarkable and important for many reasons, especially for the intimate and personal stories they tell about these very public people - stories that fans and others may never hear without these books.

On page 173 of Cooking with Heart & Soul, Hayes tells about his memories of his grandmother canning fruit -- a moving story of planning for the winter as a child growing up in rural Tennessee, of spending time with loved ones, and of fond memories with family and childhood. Here is that story:

Canning Fruits with Mama

"During the off-season (when there was no cotton to raise or pick), my grandmother canned a lot of fruits and vegetables. The land we lived on had peach trees and apple trees, with way more fruit than we could eat when it was ripe. There were great masses of blackberry bushes along the ditch that ran in front of the house separating the house from the road, and I was often sent out to pick berries for pies and jellies.

There was no more delicious aroma than those apples and peaches stewing on the stove as Mama prepared the mason jars. She'd put the jars in the pressure cooker and then when they were ready, she'd store them on shelves in the smokehouse. When I saw those rows of colorful jars brimming with fruit, I knew we would eat well all winter long."

A Lucky Birthday for Alabama's Eddie Floyd -- Knock on Wood!

Happy Birthday to Alabama-born soul singer and songwriter Eddie Floyd. Eddie Floyd was born Eddie Lee Floyd on June 25, 1935 in Montgomery, Alabama and though he has an album coming out next month -- his first in six years-- he is probably best known for his work on the Memphis-based Stax Records label in the 1960s and 1970s - first as a songwriter, then as a surprise mega-hit singer!

Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Floyd founded the the group The Falcons, which was a forerunner to future Detroit vocal groups such as one of the most famous Detroit bands (who got their start in their native Birmingham, Alabama!), The Temptations.

The 1959 hit by the Falcons, You're So Fine has been said by some to have been the first true Soul song. Wilson Pickett (yet another Alabamian -- he hailed from Prattville) was later recruited into the group and sang lead on the group's next success, I Found a Love. Pickett left shortly after to begin a a solo career, and The Falcons disbanded.

Floyd signed on with Stax Records as a songwriter in 1965. He wrote some hit songs including Comfort me, and also worked as a songwriting team with guitarist Steve Cropper to write songs for Wilson Pickett, who by now was signed to Atlantic Records (Atlantic distributed Stax). The Pickett recording sessions were a great success and yielded several hit songs, including the Floyd co-written Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do) and 634-5789 (Soulsville USA).

In 1966, Floyd wrote the song Knock on Wood, and recorded it himself though it had been intended for Otis Redding. Music producer Jerry Wexler convinced Stax president Jim Stewart to release Eddie Floyd's recording of the song and Knock On Wood launched a solo career that has spanned over four decades.

Knock on Wood is one of those remarkable songs that has a life of its own -- having been recorded by over one hundred different artists including David Bowie, Count Basie, Cher, and Ike and Tina Turner. The song became a #1 Disco hit for the recording artist Amii Stewart in 1979. Here are a few versions - including Eddie Floyd's, Amii Stewart's version and a couple of others for your entertainment. And be sure to visit the Hoole Library to learn more about Alabama's incredibly diverse and rich musical history -- the images featured here are from items the Wade Hall Collection of Southern History and Culture and the Ed Hall Sound Recordings Collection. Here's to a very cool birthday, Mr. Floyd -- and good luck with your new album!
Please enjoy this mega-hit's legacy with versions by Mr. Floyd, two by Amii Stewart, Buddy Guy, Cher, James Last and David Bowie! (Note that while I can't embed the best one - which is from 1966 and probably from the television show, Hulabaloo, you can access it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSH4Nk5bPcE)