Isaac Hayes – Truck Turner (Original Soundtrack), Vinyl LP

Isaac Hayes – Truck Turner (Original Soundtrack), Vinyl LP

GRAMMY®- and Academy Award®-winning singer, songwriter, producer and actor Isaac Hayes (1942–2008) was a revolutionary force in soul music, who shaped the sound of the genre both behind the scenes as well as in front of the microphone. A larger-than-life figure, Hayes began his career as a songwriter at Stax Records, where he penned hit after hit (alongside David Porter) for stars like Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. In the late ’60s, Hayes embarked on a solo career, during which he released such groundbreaking albums as Hot Buttered Soul, Black Moses and the chart-topping Shaft soundtrack, which made him the first Black composer to win Oscars® for Best Original Song (“Theme from Shaft”) and Best Original Score.

That success opened up a plethora of opportunities for Hayes in Hollywood, including a chance to score and star in 1974’s Truck Turner. Directed by Jonathan Kaplan, the film finds Hayes playing the titular role of a retired footballer-turned-bounty hunter who gets himself mixed up in a pimp turf war. Soundtracking the action film’s badass scenes are Hayes’ supremely funky cues, including “Breakthrough” and the dramatic “Pursuit of the Pimpmobile.” While largely instrumental, the score also showcases Hayes’ signature baritone vocals on a handful of tracks, including the attention-grabbing Main Title theme and the sultry ballad “You’re in My Arms Again.”