Stars, 3,000 fans attend late soul singer’s memorial

About 3,000 fans of the late Isaac Hayes gathered in Memphis on Monday to remember the soul music legend. Hayes died Aug. 10 at his home after suffering what his doctor believes to have been a stroke. “What would you say if you were flying into Memphis and they said you are about to land at Isaac Hayes International Airport ?” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen asked the audience at the four-hour service, drawing applause. Funk icon Bootsy Collins and actor Richard Roundtree, who starred in the film Shaft that brought Hayes his biggest musical hit in the ’70s, both attended the memorial. Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson spoke fondly of the composer, who had become familiar to a new generation of fans as the voice of character Chef on Comedy Central’s “South Park.” Jackson called Hayes “a lovely man,” praising the singer for his activism in literacy and education as far away as Ghana, where he was named a king. Actors Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and Wesley Snipes attended a private service in Hayes’ memory on Sunday.