Charles Pitts was on the wah-ed guitar, and I doubt his track would have been looped or dropped in, in 1971, so you've got a guy holding the groove and playing pretty much the same thing for four and a half minutes.
@@sigil5772 yes! It's Your Thing, etc. - must have been quite an influence on Nile Rodgers and many others. Astounding what can be done without a click track.
@@sigil5772 There were no digital samplers in 1971. If there was any looping it would have had to have been analog tape loops but that's pretty unlikely. In those days rhythm sections usually played together live. If you listen closely there is a lot of variation in that wah and it is locked in with the bass and drummer. Might have done a few punch-ins or second takes but in those days any irregularities would have probably been left in. That's why seventies music is so organic and soulful. No computers just real human emotions.
Soul music was changed forever when the “Theme from Shaft” was released. It had never before sounded so textured and complex. Also, I’m ecstatic to see a Stax artist on the channel! There’s a whole universe of music you’ve barely touched so far - Stax, Volt, and Hi Records - all being Memphis recording studios who collectively released some of the most iconic music ever made. Another Stax cut to check out is “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers. And you already know how badly I’m wanting to see you react to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” which was a humongous hit for Hi Records.
Yes! Everything Allison said!!! Memphis Music ... There's a reason why Memphis is the Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock-and-Roll. There's sooo much more than Elvis, Jerry Lee, et al. Yes, the blues and rock influenced so many artists and genres that came after. But you seriously need to check out the Stax catalog. You can start with Green Onions.
Allison Reed You nailed some serious sh**! I was 26 when this was released in '71, and was teaching in a very diverse high school with 2,000 students. You should have seen lunchtime. For the most part everyone was pretty cool, and the kids were permitted to spin some vinyl while they had lunch break. I'll never forget the first time I heard the Theme From Shaft echoing through the crowded cafeteria. Kids were up dancing in pairs, singly or in little groups - white and black. I immediately went out and bought the 45 rpm - think it cost a $.
Agree with everything except that “soul music wasn’t textured” until then… 60’s soul was just as multi layered - obviously Hayes is an icon for his flavor and civil rights personae after MLK was murdered but soul music has always drawn from so many genres…
@@niles006 That is a style that really needed to be explored by a lot more bands, but wasn't. It's such a great way to build a song and showcase the artists' talents.
I haven't seen Alex stomp his foot so much since they reacted to "War"! Great reaction to an even greater soundtrack, guys! Next... "Superfly" from Curtis Mayfield.
I have been suggesting Superfly consistently for 6 months or more. When I do suggest crickets, so if in the future you see it suggested please like and comment ! Thanks!
Isaac Hayes originally wrote this as an instrumental because he thought that was what the studio called for. When they expected lyrics, he wrote them on the spot and recorded this because it was needed now for mixing.
The Shaft Soundtrack was nominated for the album of the year Grammy award in 1972, but the Recording Academy tried to have it disqualified because they claimed Isaac Hayes couldn't have composed the music since he didn't read or write music. The Academy eventually acquiesced under pressure from various musicians and producers, including Quincy Jones, and the nomination stood.
why do you have to know how to read and write music when you can FEEL the music and then EXPRESS that music to others? .... the "check the box" mentality does not play well in the music world ....
@@fredjones7675 Agreed with all said!! It's called prejudice. 2 other Soundtracks on equal par 1) Curtis Mayfield- Superfly 2) James Brown - Down & Out in NYC Both title tracks 🔥
Has anyone seen the comedy film " The Hebrew Hammer" with the hilarious remake of the Shaft theme? Starring Adam Goldberg ( Dazed Confused, producer of the Goldbergs etc) whom in one scene pulls out guns blazing on Nazi skinheads shouting "Shabbat Shalom Mother F%$#@ rs" !!! Look up " Hebrew Hammer theme" !!
So good makes me want to watch the movie again, the movie is also so good. Also as well as being an Oscar winner, Isaac Hayes was also Chef from South Park, so his career went from Shaft to Salty Balls, not many can make that claim.
Fellas in 1971 there was no media other than TV, radio and movies. There was no other context for music. This song EXPLODED from your speakers and grabbed you. Back in the good old days,lol, you heard a song and made your own “video” in your mind. Alex’s “video” was spot on!
My dad had this album & I can still remember dancing to this all the time as a little kid, in the mid 70’s. I remember being so excited when I saw him pop up randomly as The Duke in Escape From New York that I almost started shouting, “It’s Isaac Hayes, it’s Isaac Hayes!!” in the theater.🤣
Isaac Hayes was a musical genius. Before he did this and his album Black Moses, he was primarily known for his behind-the-scenes work for Stax. He's a fantastic pianist, producer, and arranger.
He was a private detective, hence the line private dick, 😏 minds out of gutter !! Slang term for a private detective. New York is safer than London now btw!!
As fun as the Shaft theme is - Superfly is the ultimate early 70’s soundtrack. “Little Child Running Wild and “No Thing On Me” are two totally underrated songs, but most will listen to “Freddie’s Dead” and “Pusherman” as they were the singles. Curtis Mayfield in his prime and genius.
100% agreed tackling social issues as well!@ Though I would suggest starting with the title track " Suoerfly" 🔥 I can't imagine after hear that A&A would not then be inspired to check the ones you mentioned!! Worthy of full album reaction Also check James Brown - "Down & Out in NYC" (73) From the film " Black Caesar" 🔥
That, my friends, is called arranging. It's ultimately a journey to nowhere, but oh my, what a ride. Certainly, for the time it came out, it was unlike almost anything else you heard on the radio, and set the template for much that followed. For that it is an S.
Issac Hayes was one of my moms favs. As was Barry White. This song, if I remember correctly, was bigger than the movie itself! 😎☮️❤️and rocking birthday wishes!
this song got tons of radio airplay,so it could be considered as a stand alone song. i hadn't seen the movie until years after it came out,so it was just a song to me,and i loved it.
My experience with it as well. I moved to Memphis in ‘85 and was so excited to find out that my new home was the home to not only Sun Studio and Graceland, but to Stax Records as well. Love,love, love me some Stax!
Going to the cinema as a teenager in the 70's and the movie begins with this music was like ... Wow ! Omg ! ........and the movie was brilliant. I have the movie on dvd today still, as well as the record of Isaac Hayes. After all these decades the music still stands proud through the test of time.
RIP - he died not too long after A&A posted this. I had not seen him for a long time - decades - but I have seen two movies he did in the past few years playing of all things - an old guy; in both, it was a major/starring role. I just hope he did it because he wanted to work and not because he was needy.
Staxx Records was its own civilization, as complicated as ancient Rome. Johnny Baylor used to threaten djs at gunpoint to play Isaac Hayes on the radio.
"Theme from Shaft" is an iconic early example of the use of the wah wah guitar pedal effect. Kirk Hammett of Metallica, the currently crowned king of the wah wah pedal (he is often criticized for over using the effect - see guitar solo from "Enter Sandman" for example) recently had a wah wah-off competition, with Hammett and challenger alternating wah heavy guitar licks played over the "Theme from Shaft." Very entertaining and shows Kirk has a great sense of humor and is willing to make fun of himself.
Saw an interview with the guitarist about the evolution of this sound. He had just gotten it and was playing around with the wah-wah and happened to play a muted chord while rocking the pedal and Isaac told him, "That's it, just do that the whole time." The guitarist was kind of bummed because in previous rehearsals he'd done a lot of cool fills and licks, but didn't get to use any of it, but after it was completed he knew the sound would become iconic.
I just now realized how influential this song was for the disco genre...I did not remember it being 1971 which is a few years prior to disco...I have a greater appreciation for it more than before knowing that fact. Disco: wah wah guitar, fast steady beat, great horn section, great string section all play to the disco. Now I know it was the biggest influence of the great music Disco brought us.
I went backwards... I first heard Freddie's Dead from the Nightmare on Elm Street movie that used that as the closing credits song, then found Superfly!
Alex's explanation on how he understood the plot of the movie, amazed me, because his vision of the movie was right on point down to the T. I don't know how he formed it in his mind, but it astounded me how correct and on point he was. Just amazing!👏
Takes me back to the Fall of 1971 - Thanksgiving Day, gathered with family, watching the Oklahoma/Nebraska Shootout. Back in a day when - if a game was televised, it was special.
Movie soundtracks would never be the same after this song!!! And how you both described what was going on in the song, that's the first five minutes of the film!!! Outstanding guys!!
When this movie came out, I was only 7. I begged my mom to take me to see it but obviously she said “NO”! I got the 45 of this song and played it over and over on the console stereo we had in our living room. Drove her crazy!
Issac Hayes, David Porter and Steve Cropper wrote and produced so many great tunes during their tenor at the legendary STAX records, playing a major role being in the popularity of soul and R&B in the 1960's- early1970's, and "Shaft" was a great musical sound track
This song was a staple in marching bands back in the day. I clearly remember sitting with the marching band at Friday night high school football games. I was high up in the stands with the drummers/percussionists. I was the one tapping out the intro to Shaft, on 2 closed cymbals, while a fellow percussionist held them. Such a sweet victory as a female in the mids 70's to be Captain of the Drum Corp and being given the responsibility of kicking off this bad ass tune😎 Man! Takes me back 🥁 Thanks for the nostalgia, Dudes 🥳
I'm not a big R&B guy, but I bought his greatest hits CD pretty much for this song. Blasting it in my basement and my family thought I was nuts! 🤣 I love how the instrumentation build's one at a time to the crescendo of the vocal section. And he was " Chef " on South Park to boot!😁🤠
OMG. The layer upon layer upon layer...we so loved this when it came out...nothing was cooler...driving rainy dark streets in the 1968 Cutlass with this song...so great...that song, nothing IS cooler. What a thoughtful, per usual, reaction. He was painting images and there were so many 'urban paintings' in music at that time. 'Living for the City' by Stevie Wonder and 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' by The Temptations come to mind. Great reaction guys.
Your discussion of the theme not being complete like a song. It prompted me to think of the Rockford Files theme, which seems more complete to me. That theme song made the charts. "The song spent four months on the charts and in August 1975 became a Top 10 hit in the U.S." (just looked it up on Wiki).
Shaft was "a complicated man, but no one understands him like his woman." Cannot believe you all hit this. Very popular film score, was played all over radio and everywhere. Really popularized that wawa sound of the guitar throughout the '70s. Lots and lots of copycats. There's another great sexy instrumental love song on this album called "Ellie's Love Theme" that will definitely get you in the mood. Isaac Hayes was known for the production value in his albums. His album "Hot Buttered Soul" 1969 is one of my favorite albums of all time. Soul music backed by full orchestration with a production quality that was just off the charts... Rivaled or exceeded just about anything else out during that era. One of my all-time favorite concerts was seeing Isaac Hayes live, backed by the full Quincy Jones orchestra (Quincy Jones also noted for famous film scores), as he performed Hot Buttered Soul from beginning to end late into the night. Right up there for Pink Floyd for memorable concert experiences for me. You just have to hear it to appreciate it. Isaac Hayes was groundbreaking. Smooth elegant soulful baritone voice. One of the best. RIP "Walk On By" Isaac Hayes, is a 12 minute masterpiece.
Great reaction. You nailed that this theme is the intro to the movie and depicts Shaft moving through the noisy, dangerous city and suggesting that he is a calm concentrated force for justice.
"This one time at band camp...", well it wasn't exactly band camp but we were a group of high school musicians form different high schools who were tasked with learning this song to play at a ceremony. After a week of practice the time came to play and I'll tell you, from my position in the horn section, it sounded so incredible that goosebumps formed on my skin. Now every time I hear Shaft, it brings up that memory. Great selection Andy and Alex! Thanks for the memory!
While you are in this time and genre, Barry White & The Love Unlimited Orchestra, Curtis Mayfield "Dimond in the Back" Every time I see a 70s Caddie, I think of that song.
Be thankful for what you've got is the correct title and it was originally done by William De Vaughan. They almost sound the same but I prefer Williams a little better
I had someone correct me in a comment, that Be Thankful For What You've Got (Diamond in the Back) is not Curtis Mayfield. Someone posted it on TH-cam with the Superfly album cover, and they really screwed with poor William DeVaughan's legacy.
The “Theme from Shaft” included a full symphony. The main character John Shaft was James Bond type hero in the city streets. It is an intricate, phenomenal piece of music that astounded everyone in 1971.
As far as 70's soundtracks Curtis Mayfield - "Superfly" (72) 🔥 is Numero Uno! (Check title track!) Most definitely down with Shaft but Superfly (title track & album) is lyrically just more deep and the whole album is overall superior. In fact would warrant a full album reaction. Must react tracks Superfly (Title track, circa 72) James Brown- " Down and Out in NYC" (73) 🔥
@@alrivers2297 Yes, tough choice which track but I think the title track is the best place to start but the 2 you mentioned are equally as powerful !!! The Pusherman scene in the film with Curtis performing alone makes the film.
My first time to Mardi Gras one of the local high school brass marching bands marched and performed to this song. It was perfectly arranged and executed and when it came to the vocal section and the energy was ramped up, everyone started dancing AND playing. It was the coolest performance I've ever seen and I fell in love with the song and the city.
Shaft came out in 1972, and I was about 14 and I remember the TV trailer being shown for the first time and everyone in my house went crazy!! We had never seen a tough black guy like that before!!
Shaft in the movie was like that, a good guy swimming upstream in an evil city. Correct in that he was a light against the backdrop of a difficult place. Thanks for this.
You know a song is a banger when Alex shakes his head in approval and says "It's so cool".................... and the song is still in the introduction section!
Dude in the white nailed it !! It's like The Bee Gee's "Staying Alive" from Saturday night Fever. It paint's a picture of a scene in your mind of a big dirty gritty city hustle and presents the main character who becomes the focus of that theme.
In my middle school years…6-8grade, instead of ringing a bell for class change, our school played this, it was AWESOME!! And yes, that was back in the day 73-75.
Good gracious, the bones are so bad ass on this chart. This is top shelf arranging. The 16th note high hat is iconic. That rhythm guitar is a perfect fit.
Correction for Alex: Isaac Hayes won the Oscar for best original song from a motion picture with "Shaft", not best score. Best Score went to Michel Legrand for "Summer of '42".
At about 3.57 of this video-that stacatoed wind part starts and I instantly am in my chair in HS band. I remember the first time trying to play through that on the clarinet. The trumpet section loved that song.
When I was a teenager the house crew from Stax records used to do frequent Sunday jams at the Overton Park bandshell in Memphis Tennessee. Isaac Hayes, Booker T and the MG's, The Barkays, The Memphis Horns and a slew of old school blues guys like Furry Lewis, Albert King. I was even there when Jimmy Page and John Bonham showed up after selling out the Coliseum the night before and were total fan boys and in awe of who there were on stage with. Fun times!
I was brought up on a diet of glam rock and British rock of the late 60's early to mid seventies but this whole album is simply stunning my go to chill album, .simply a classic of its time
At last. Isaac Hayes, Stax records. Wonderful! More soul artists please: Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Barry White + more modern soul artists Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Esperanza Spalding (prodigy bass player).
I think why it has no"normal" song progression is because it is like a ouverture of an opera that introduces a couple of themes to come. But for filmmusic very special and influential especially on pop/soul genre.
A&A, his other hits include “Do Your Thing” and “Never Can Say Goodbye”. The original “Never Can Say Goodbye” is by The Jackson 5, amazing vocals by 12 year old Michael Jackson!! Other great bass lines- Paul McCartney- "Silly Love Songs", Stevie Wonder- "I Wish" (Nathan Watts).
You guys need to see the movie because it was made when l was a child born and raise in New York City and it was exactly the crazy world if that city for so many years and his music captured it perfectly
I was in 7th grade when this record (45 rpm) went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and my junior high choral teacher exclaimed it was the most original song she'd heard in the last couple of years. Some people describe this as the first disco song and they could be right--I can't think of anything like it before 1971, but it was imitated many times after that.
Issac Hayes was a musical genius and one of the creators of the southern soul movement. He used instruments in a very lush way for his time, a creative giant. Issac spent a bunch of his career as a writer, arranger, producer, and session musician at Stax Records and other labels as well. He was inducted into both the Rock and Roll and the Grammy halls of fame. Let his treatment of Burt Bachrach's "Walk On By" sink in to you: th-cam.com/video/5loAY27W5IY/w-d-xo.html
Isaac Hayes composed so much music for this film that they couldn't fit it all in the movie. But it was all included in the soundtrack album, a DOUBLE DISC set. Every note of it is brilliant!!! Check out the song "Soulsville" too.
Nailed it Alex. Now you should listen to Superfly by Curtis Mayfield. Superfly was also a movie soundtrack that Curtis Mayfield wrote the music for. Also from that movie the songs Fred Is Dead and The Pusherman were big hits.
Gentlemen, start your wah pedals.
Charles Pitts was on the wah-ed guitar, and I doubt his track would have been looped or dropped in, in 1971, so you've got a guy holding the groove and playing pretty much the same thing for four and a half minutes.
Saw what you did there and I like it!!
@@sigil5772 yes! It's Your Thing, etc. - must have been quite an influence on Nile Rodgers and many others. Astounding what can be done without a click track.
…and your hi-hat.
@@sigil5772 There were no digital samplers in 1971. If there was any looping it would have had to have been analog tape loops but that's pretty unlikely. In those days rhythm sections usually played together live. If you listen closely there is a lot of variation in that wah and it is locked in with the bass and drummer. Might have done a few punch-ins or second takes but in those days any irregularities would have probably been left in. That's why seventies music is so organic and soulful. No computers just real human emotions.
A little trivia, the woman that shouted "Shut Your Mouth" at 5:04 was actress Telma Hopkins who was also half of Dawn in Tony Orlando and Dawn.
❤
Soul music was changed forever when the “Theme from Shaft” was released. It had never before sounded so textured and complex. Also, I’m ecstatic to see a Stax artist on the channel! There’s a whole universe of music you’ve barely touched so far - Stax, Volt, and Hi Records - all being Memphis recording studios who collectively released some of the most iconic music ever made. Another Stax cut to check out is “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers. And you already know how badly I’m wanting to see you react to Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” which was a humongous hit for Hi Records.
Yes!!! “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers is a must listen
Yes! Everything Allison said!!! Memphis Music ... There's a reason why Memphis is the Home of the Blues and Birthplace of Rock-and-Roll. There's sooo much more than Elvis, Jerry Lee, et al. Yes, the blues and rock influenced so many artists and genres that came after. But you seriously need to check out the Stax catalog. You can start with Green Onions.
@@umbluegray1 well said!
Allison Reed You nailed some serious sh**! I was 26 when this was released in '71, and was teaching in a very diverse high school with 2,000 students. You should have seen lunchtime. For the most part everyone was pretty cool, and the kids were permitted to spin some vinyl while they had lunch break. I'll never forget the first time I heard the Theme From Shaft echoing through the crowded cafeteria. Kids were up dancing in pairs, singly or in little groups - white and black. I immediately went out and bought the 45 rpm - think it cost a $.
Agree with everything except that “soul music wasn’t textured” until then…
60’s soul was just as multi layered - obviously Hayes is an icon for his flavor and civil rights personae after MLK was murdered but soul music has always drawn from so many genres…
The intricacy and layering are very like "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". Brilliant.
Absolutely could not agree more, the same thought I had ✌🏼
@@niles006 That is a style that really needed to be explored by a lot more bands, but wasn't. It's such a great way to build a song and showcase the artists' talents.
Bob Another favorite of mine! Makes ya want to get up and dance.
exactly correct
Yes, I thought the same thing!
I haven't seen Alex stomp his foot so much since they reacted to "War"! Great reaction to an even greater soundtrack, guys! Next... "Superfly" from Curtis Mayfield.
Absolutely! Curtis Mayfield fully realized the genre!
Tryin' to get over....tryin' to get over.....Superfly
Freddie's Dead.
Need to put a bucket of grapes under his foot and take advantage of all that stomping! 😜😂
I have been suggesting Superfly consistently for 6 months or more.
When I do suggest crickets, so if in the future you see it suggested please like and comment ! Thanks!
Isaac Hayes originally wrote this as an instrumental because he thought that was what the studio called for. When they expected lyrics, he wrote them on the spot and recorded this because it was needed now for mixing.
The shorter instrumental version was on Side 2.
The Shaft Soundtrack was nominated for the album of the year Grammy award in 1972, but the Recording Academy tried to have it disqualified because they claimed Isaac Hayes couldn't have composed the music since he didn't read or write music. The Academy eventually acquiesced under pressure from various musicians and producers, including Quincy Jones, and the nomination stood.
why do you have to know how to read and write music when you can FEEL the music and then EXPRESS that music to others? .... the "check the box" mentality does not play well in the music world ....
@@fredjones7675 Exactly.
@@fredjones7675 Agreed with all said!!
It's called prejudice.
2 other Soundtracks on equal par
1) Curtis Mayfield- Superfly
2) James Brown - Down & Out in NYC
Both title tracks 🔥
@@fredjones7675
Amen!!
Has anyone seen the comedy film
" The Hebrew Hammer" with the hilarious remake of the Shaft theme? Starring Adam Goldberg ( Dazed Confused, producer of the Goldbergs etc) whom in one scene pulls out guns blazing on Nazi skinheads shouting
"Shabbat Shalom Mother F%$#@ rs" !!!
Look up " Hebrew Hammer theme" !!
Alex...and Isaac nailed it. That was exactly what the song is about, executed perfectly.
Yeah they did!.........can you dig it ✌️
Talking’ ‘bout Shaft…!
He described it to a tee!
John Shaft!
Saunders?
So good makes me want to watch the movie again, the movie is also so good. Also as well as being an Oscar winner, Isaac Hayes was also Chef from South Park, so his career went from Shaft to Salty Balls, not many can make that claim.
Internet comment of the day!
Fellas in 1971 there was no media other than TV, radio and movies. There was no other context for music. This song EXPLODED from your speakers and grabbed you. Back in the good old days,lol, you heard a song and made your own “video” in your mind. Alex’s “video” was spot on!
We loved hearing it on the radio back in the day as a stand alone song. It just grabs you!
For real, man.
It's been on my playlist for 50 years. I can't think of another single from a movie I like more than the theme to Shaft. Soooooo funky, still fresh.
We said the same thing without reading what you wrote. It is a masterpiece no matter what the context is.
Over five decades on and this is still one of the coolest movie soundtracks ever! 💙
Amen!
A lot of great instrumentals on this soundtrack.
My dad had this album & I can still remember dancing to this all the time as a little kid, in the mid 70’s. I remember being so excited when I saw him pop up randomly as The Duke in Escape From New York that I almost started shouting, “It’s Isaac Hayes, it’s Isaac Hayes!!” in the theater.🤣
th-cam.com/video/Ehg2EaYhoJs/w-d-xo.html
Great sounds of city streets...
Isaac Hayes was a musical genius. Before he did this and his album Black Moses, he was primarily known for his behind-the-scenes work for Stax. He's a fantastic pianist, producer, and arranger.
Don't forget about Chef from South Park 😂
Now watch the "Shaft" opening scene and see how Alex was 100% correct with his visual and both of you will change your rating to "S".
Exactly! Amazing.
He was a private detective, hence the line private dick, 😏 minds out of gutter !! Slang term for a private detective. New York is safer than London now btw!!
He couldn't have got it MORE exactly. Amazing.
Alex's description was dead on. th-cam.com/video/pFlsufZj9Fg/w-d-xo.html
His live performance of this song absolutely blew me away! WOW!!!!!
agreed
As fun as the Shaft theme is - Superfly is the ultimate early 70’s soundtrack. “Little Child Running Wild and “No Thing On Me” are two totally underrated songs, but most will listen to “Freddie’s Dead” and “Pusherman” as they were the singles. Curtis Mayfield in his prime and genius.
100% agreed
tackling social issues as well!@
Though I would suggest starting with the title track " Suoerfly" 🔥
I can't imagine after hear that A&A would not then be inspired to check the ones you mentioned!!
Worthy of full album reaction
Also check
James Brown - "Down & Out in NYC" (73)
From the film " Black Caesar" 🔥
For me Curtis is up there with Ellington as a 20th century musical genius
Yes please!
@@avonlave Most definitely!!
Today's Livestream
Curtis Mayfieid - Superfly (72) ❤️ because A&A are 2 Superfly cats!!!
That, my friends, is called arranging. It's ultimately a journey to nowhere, but oh my, what a ride. Certainly, for the time it came out, it was unlike almost anything else you heard on the radio, and set the template for much that followed. For that it is an S.
^^^^ This ^^^^
CORRECT. 100
One of those pieces of music where you hear the first few bars and instantly know its name. A classic!
Issac Hayes was one of my moms favs. As was Barry White. This song, if I remember correctly, was bigger than the movie itself! 😎☮️❤️and rocking birthday wishes!
They are a hop, skip and not even a jump from Barry White.
Oh my god Barry White! Some day they need that :D
much bigger, and the movie was pretty big
"own code of justice" was a big theme in early 70's movies: Shaft, Billy Jack, Dirty Harry, etc....
Yes! Nice to see you add Billy Jack in there 👍 those movies get overlooked
The Lalo Schifrin theme to Magnum Force rivals this! Superb 70s music.
this song got tons of radio airplay,so it could be considered as a stand alone song. i hadn't seen the movie until years after it came out,so it was just a song to me,and i loved it.
My experience with it as well. I moved to Memphis in ‘85 and was so excited to find out that my new home was the home to not only Sun Studio and Graceland, but to Stax Records as well. Love,love, love me some Stax!
Yes, the shorter radio edit
How they think it became popular if it didn't have any radio play?
Going to the cinema as a teenager in the 70's and the movie begins with this music was like ... Wow ! Omg ! ........and the movie was brilliant. I have the movie on dvd today still, as well as the record of Isaac Hayes. After all these decades the music still stands proud through the test of time.
If Andy and Alex don't give this a A+ we send Shaft after these two
Brent Lee For real! Just watching them react tells me they dig it big time.
👉 Isaac Hayes "Walk On By" (1969) - this is the epic you want to add to the list.
Hot Buttered Soul is one of the great albums of all time in my opinion.
Yes please!! 👍👍👍
Great tune! My high school band played it, hahaha! That’s how big a hit it was.
My high school band played it also. I played guitar and didn’t realize the wah-wah pedal needed a battery. Oops!
I could swear we saw at least one marching band play it on TV. A parade. Or a football game.
Our Jr high dance group did a routine to Shaft. Hold Your Head Up by Argent, too. Wow, to be 13 again!
So did mine! It was a hard song to get right but it sounded great with live horns and flutes.
@@evangeline3152 We sounded great! I remember the trombone and baritone part.
I was 17 when this came out and it was an awesome driving song 🥰
If you see Richard Roundtree as Shaft you'll get it. He was like the Samuel L. Jackson of his era as far as coolness.
Ironically didn't Samuel L Jackson play the more recent Shaft (remake)???
RIP - he died not too long after A&A posted this. I had not seen him for a long time - decades - but I have seen two movies he did in the past few years playing of all things - an old guy; in both, it was a major/starring role. I just hope he did it because he wanted to work and not because he was needy.
one of the great ones. it's like a bouquet of instruments. and Issac Hayes voice is so smooth.
Staxx Records was its own civilization, as complicated as ancient Rome. Johnny Baylor used to threaten djs at gunpoint to play Isaac Hayes on the radio.
I'm thinking Watcha See Is Watcha Get is from Stax. I LOVE that song, too.
Peter Quinones OMG! Is that actually true?
@@jaycorby Check the book Respect Yourself by Robert Gordon for a good midlevel history of Stax Records.
"Theme from Shaft" is an iconic early example of the use of the wah wah guitar pedal effect. Kirk Hammett of Metallica, the currently crowned king of the wah wah pedal (he is often criticized for over using the effect - see guitar solo from "Enter Sandman" for example) recently had a wah wah-off competition, with Hammett and challenger alternating wah heavy guitar licks played over the "Theme from Shaft." Very entertaining and shows Kirk has a great sense of humor and is willing to make fun of himself.
Had to go find that: th-cam.com/video/8X1Hv2U7G08/w-d-xo.html
Saw an interview with the guitarist about the evolution of this sound. He had just gotten it and was playing around with the wah-wah and happened to play a muted chord while rocking the pedal and Isaac told him, "That's it, just do that the whole time." The guitarist was kind of bummed because in previous rehearsals he'd done a lot of cool fills and licks, but didn't get to use any of it, but after it was completed he knew the sound would become iconic.
Jerry Cantrell's wah skills >>>>>>>> Kirk Hammett's
Hendrix or Clapton
This is the quintessential wah.
I just now realized how influential this song was for the disco genre...I did not remember it being 1971 which is a few years prior to disco...I have a greater appreciation for it more than before knowing that fact.
Disco: wah wah guitar, fast steady beat, great horn section, great string section all play to the disco. Now I know it was the biggest influence of the great music Disco brought us.
Disco incorporated a lot of soul music.
“Damn right!”
Time to hit some Curtis Mayfield - check out ' Superfly' and "Freddie's Dead ' - time very well spent
SUPERFLY- numero uno!!!
Also Move On Up
I went backwards... I first heard Freddie's Dead from the Nightmare on Elm Street movie that used that as the closing credits song, then found Superfly!
@@OniNoSweeney Ha,!!
Alex's explanation on how he understood the plot of the movie, amazed me, because his vision of the movie was right on point down to the T. I don't know how he formed it in his mind, but it astounded me how correct and on point he was. Just amazing!👏
Takes me back to the Fall of 1971 - Thanksgiving Day, gathered with family, watching the Oklahoma/Nebraska Shootout. Back in a day when - if a game was televised, it was special.
O.U./N.U. is on tv tomorrow. Not as special now.
Movie soundtracks would never be the same after this song!!! And how you both described what was going on in the song, that's the first five minutes of the film!!! Outstanding guys!!
When this movie came out, I was only 7. I begged my mom to take me to see it but obviously she said “NO”! I got the 45 of this song and played it over and over on the console stereo we had in our living room. Drove her crazy!
Issac Hayes, David Porter and Steve Cropper wrote and produced so many great tunes during their tenor at the legendary STAX records, playing a major role being in the popularity of soul and R&B in the 1960's- early1970's, and "Shaft" was a great musical sound track
More people heard the song on the radio then seeing the film. Of course it's a stand alone song. It made #1 as a single
This song was a staple in marching bands back in the day. I clearly remember sitting with the marching band at Friday night high school football games. I was high up in the stands with the drummers/percussionists. I was the one tapping out the intro to Shaft, on 2 closed cymbals, while a fellow percussionist held them. Such a sweet victory as a female in the mids 70's to be Captain of the Drum Corp and being given the responsibility of kicking off this bad ass tune😎 Man! Takes me back 🥁 Thanks for the nostalgia, Dudes 🥳
Now that you mentioned it, you still hear it today. LOL
@@flubblert good deal! I thought that might be the case, but wasn't sure. Good music never loses its flavor, just like a good stick of gum🙃
I'm not a big R&B guy, but I bought his greatest hits CD pretty much for this song.
Blasting it in my basement and my family thought I was nuts! 🤣 I love how the instrumentation build's one at a time to the crescendo of the vocal section. And he was " Chef " on South Park to boot!😁🤠
This will never get old, to me it's like a black Bach masterpiece.
I hope this is the extended version of the song, you get more of an impact of it. Love this song!
...plain and simple....HERE COMES DISCO..... the morphing of Cinematic Soul.😀🪩💕
OMG. The layer upon layer upon layer...we so loved this when it came out...nothing was cooler...driving rainy dark streets in the 1968 Cutlass with this song...so great...that song, nothing IS cooler. What a thoughtful, per usual, reaction. He was painting images and there were so many 'urban paintings' in music at that time. 'Living for the City' by Stevie Wonder and 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' by The Temptations come to mind. Great reaction guys.
Your discussion of the theme not being complete like a song. It prompted me to think of the Rockford Files theme, which seems more complete to me. That theme song made the charts. "The song spent four months on the charts and in August 1975 became a Top 10 hit in the U.S." (just looked it up on Wiki).
I love those great TV theme songs. Hill Street Blues is one I think they would love too.
Google told me August 1s 1971
In the 70's a few tv soundtracks charted. I know the "Theme from S.W.A.T." made the Top 10.
Love the keyboards on the Rockford files.
Shaft was "a complicated man, but no one understands him like his woman." Cannot believe you all hit this. Very popular film score, was played all over radio and everywhere. Really popularized that wawa sound of the guitar throughout the '70s. Lots and lots of copycats. There's another great sexy instrumental love song on this album called "Ellie's Love Theme" that will definitely get you in the mood.
Isaac Hayes was known for the production value in his albums. His album "Hot Buttered Soul" 1969 is one of my favorite albums of all time. Soul music backed by full orchestration with a production quality that was just off the charts... Rivaled or exceeded just about anything else out during that era. One of my all-time favorite concerts was seeing Isaac Hayes live, backed by the full Quincy Jones orchestra (Quincy Jones also noted for famous film scores), as he performed Hot Buttered Soul from beginning to end late into the night. Right up there for Pink Floyd for memorable concert experiences for me.
You just have to hear it to appreciate it. Isaac Hayes was groundbreaking. Smooth elegant soulful baritone voice. One of the best. RIP
"Walk On By" Isaac Hayes, is a 12 minute masterpiece.
Great reaction. You nailed that this theme is the intro to the movie and depicts Shaft moving through the noisy, dangerous city and suggesting that he is a calm concentrated force for justice.
"This one time at band camp...", well it wasn't exactly band camp but we were a group of high school musicians form different high schools who were tasked with learning this song to play at a ceremony. After a week of practice the time came to play and I'll tell you, from my position in the horn section, it sounded so incredible that goosebumps formed on my skin. Now every time I hear Shaft, it brings up that memory. Great selection Andy and Alex! Thanks for the memory!
While you are in this time and genre, Barry White & The Love Unlimited Orchestra, Curtis Mayfield "Dimond in the Back" Every time I see a 70s Caddie, I think of that song.
Be thankful for what you've got is the correct title and it was originally done by William De Vaughan. They almost sound the same but I prefer Williams a little better
I had someone correct me in a comment, that Be Thankful For What You've Got (Diamond in the Back) is not Curtis Mayfield. Someone posted it on TH-cam with the Superfly album cover, and they really screwed with poor William DeVaughan's legacy.
The “Theme from Shaft” included a full symphony. The main character John Shaft was James Bond type hero in the city streets. It is an intricate, phenomenal piece of music that astounded everyone in 1971.
Memphis Symphony strings and horns.
i remember Isaac Hayes being pushed out on stage on his keyboard riser wearing chains.
Bad ass.
It captures urban living in the 70s perfectly
I loved him as Chef on South Park. He had a hit there as well called "Chocolate Salty Balls".
As far as 70's soundtracks
Curtis Mayfield - "Superfly" (72) 🔥
is Numero Uno! (Check title track!)
Most definitely down with Shaft but Superfly (title track & album) is lyrically just more deep and the whole album is overall superior. In fact would warrant a full album reaction.
Must react tracks
Superfly (Title track, circa 72)
James Brown- " Down and Out in NYC" (73) 🔥
Superfly, Freddy's Dead and Pusherman
@@alrivers2297
Yes, tough choice which track but I think the title track is the best place to start but the 2 you mentioned are equally as powerful !!! The Pusherman scene in the film with Curtis performing alone makes the film.
@Lucy Bikes NYC For sure!!!
My first time to Mardi Gras one of the local high school brass marching bands marched and performed to this song. It was perfectly arranged and executed and when it came to the vocal section and the energy was ramped up, everyone started dancing AND playing. It was the coolest performance I've ever seen and I fell in love with the song and the city.
When you see the opening sequence this is played over you’ll see you got it from the start.
Shaft came out in 1972, and I was about 14 and I remember the TV trailer being shown for the first time and everyone in my house went crazy!! We had never seen a tough black guy like that before!!
One of my favorite soundtracks back in the day!
Same
Likewise!
Shaft in the movie was like that, a good guy swimming upstream in an evil city. Correct in that he was a light against the backdrop of a difficult place. Thanks for this.
You know a song is a banger when Alex shakes his head in approval and says "It's so cool".................... and the song is still in the introduction section!
Fun fact: in the Tarantino-verse, Django and Broomhilda von Shaft are ancestors of Shaft.
Isaac Hayes was a freakin' genius. "Theme from Shaft" is a soul symphony, in all its glory.
I remember when this came out, great music. After this came out Isaac Hayes was everywhere on TV.
Dude in the white nailed it !! It's like The Bee Gee's "Staying Alive" from Saturday night Fever. It paint's a picture of a scene in your mind of a big dirty gritty city hustle and presents the main character who becomes the focus of that theme.
The Shaft Theme, was every bit as good as the Bond-themed movies in the early 70's.
In my middle school years…6-8grade, instead of ringing a bell for class change, our school played this, it was AWESOME!! And yes, that was back in the day 73-75.
I have not heard this longer version before.
Good gracious, the bones are so bad ass on this chart. This is top shelf arranging. The 16th note high hat is iconic. That rhythm guitar is a perfect fit.
I haven't seen the film in aeons but I remember it being great. Not sure how it's aged. Song holds up because funky is funky.
I remember loads of marching bands playing this at football games in the 70s.
This song came out when no one knew what a wah wah was. It blew us away.
Best feeling in the world is setting off in the car to this track.
Correction for Alex: Isaac Hayes won the Oscar for best original song from a motion picture with "Shaft", not best score. Best Score went to Michel Legrand for "Summer of '42".
You should check out the fantastic performance of this at the Academy Awards ! Totally cool...will always be one of my favorite songs
Good cinematic interpretation of the character based on how it sounded to you, Alex!
Another one where I love knowing the guys aren't ready for the ride they are about to take. Absolutely brilliant recording.
Andy, this was a stand-alone song, it was a radio hit from the soundtrack.
At about 3.57 of this video-that stacatoed wind part starts and I instantly am in my chair in HS band. I remember the first time trying to play through that on the clarinet. The trumpet section loved that song.
A CLASSIC! So glad you reacted to this great Soundtrack. 👍👍👍 BTW Richard Roundtree was perfect in the role of Shaft.
When I was a teenager the house crew from Stax records used to do frequent Sunday jams at the Overton Park bandshell in Memphis Tennessee.
Isaac Hayes, Booker T and the MG's, The Barkays, The Memphis Horns and a slew of old school blues guys like Furry Lewis, Albert King. I was even there when Jimmy Page and John Bonham showed up after selling out the Coliseum the night before and were total fan boys and in awe of who there were on stage with. Fun times!
The Superfly soundtrack is another great one. You two should check it out.
Shaft! Damn right!
Superfly numero uno
Today's Livestream
Curtis Mayfieid - Superfly (72) ❤️ because A&A are 2 Superfly cats!!!
@@jgsrhythm100 right on!
@@WilliamTheMovieFan Yes I suggested Superfly entire Livestream, not 1 person chimed in (crickets) Don't get it. Only one suggesting it.
Whenever I hear the theme from 'Shaft' it instantly lifts my mood.
I think Alex got this spot on, as a film theme this has to be S tier for me.
I was brought up on a diet of glam rock and British rock of the late 60's early to mid seventies but this whole album is simply stunning my go to chill album, .simply a classic of its time
Wilson Pickett is the engine of soul.
Agreed. I bet the guys would love "Mustang Sally", "In the Midnight Hour", and "Land of 1000 Dances", just to name a few.
this was an EPIC moment in Oscar history... incredible mind-blower of Black power, identity
At last. Isaac Hayes, Stax records. Wonderful! More soul artists please: Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Barry White + more modern soul artists Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Esperanza Spalding (prodigy bass player).
Facts 💯💯
I think why it has no"normal" song progression is because it is like a ouverture of an opera that introduces a couple of themes to come. But for filmmusic very special and influential especially on pop/soul genre.
A&A, his other hits include “Do Your Thing” and “Never Can Say Goodbye”.
The original “Never Can Say Goodbye” is by The Jackson 5, amazing vocals by 12 year old Michael Jackson!!
Other great bass lines- Paul McCartney- "Silly Love Songs", Stevie Wonder- "I Wish" (Nathan Watts).
All great classic stuff!
That version by the J5 is one of my favorites by them.
Love the sound of those trombones blasting through..
This is still the coolest cruising song ever.
A master class in soul music. Flawless funk that just builds and builds.
You guys need to see the movie because it was made when l was a child born and raise in New York City and it was exactly the crazy world if that city for so many years and his music captured it perfectly
Alex: You have extreme music interpretation paranormal powers!
I was in 7th grade when this record (45 rpm) went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and my junior high choral teacher exclaimed it was the most original song she'd heard in the last couple of years. Some people describe this as the first disco song and they could be right--I can't think of anything like it before 1971, but it was imitated many times after that.
Issac Hayes was a musical genius and one of the creators of the southern soul movement. He used instruments in a very lush way for his time, a creative giant. Issac spent a bunch of his career as a writer, arranger, producer, and session musician at Stax Records and other labels as well. He was inducted into both the Rock and Roll and the Grammy halls of fame. Let his treatment of Burt Bachrach's "Walk On By" sink in to you: th-cam.com/video/5loAY27W5IY/w-d-xo.html
Masterpiece!! Saw him perform this entire album live backed by full Quincy Jones orchestra in Chicago 1973. Soul heaven. Life changing.
Isaac Hayes composed so much music for this film that they couldn't fit it all in the movie. But it was all included in the soundtrack album, a DOUBLE DISC set. Every note of it is brilliant!!! Check out the song "Soulsville" too.
"Do Your Thing," the long version from the soundtrack, is a classic!
Nailed it Alex. Now you should listen to Superfly by Curtis Mayfield. Superfly was also a movie soundtrack that Curtis Mayfield wrote the music for. Also from that movie the songs Fred Is Dead and The Pusherman were big hits.
Today's Livestream
Curtis Mayfieid - Superfly (72) ❤️ because A&A are 2 Superfly cats!!!