Older generations know him as the smooth, deep-voiced singer who won countless awards for the Shaft theme song. Younger generations remember him as South Park’s Chef, that singing Lothario who dispensed earthy advice with cafeteria-created Salisbury steak. He was Isaac Hayes, and sadly he was silenced this past Sunday at the age of 65.

Hayes was pronounced dead in Memphis, TN after being found by a family member in his home. Hayes first gained attention in 1969 for his unique look and mellow tones in the album “Hot Buttered Soul.” Hayes even did some rapping on the album, long before the genre itself existed. But it was the Shaft theme song which helped rocket Hayes to lasting success in 1971. “That was like the shot heard round the world,” Hayes recalled during an interview conducted in 1999. Hayes performed the song, decked out in gold chains, for the 1972 Oscars ceremony (he received a standing ovation for the performance). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Hayes got his start in the industry working as a backup pianist and session musician for stars such as Otis Redding. He was a self-taught musician. Isaac Hayes also had brief appearances in several movies, including It Could Happen to You, Reindeer Games and I’m Gonna Git You, Sucka (truly one of funniest films ever created).

If you don’t know Hayes for any of these achievements, you know him for his famous character and corresponding catchphrase on South Park - “hello, children!” Hayes became the voice of Chef when South Park first began in 1997, and he stayed with the series for nine years before leaving in 2006. According to show gossip and South Park insiders, Hayes left the series because it habitually mocked his religion - Scientology. Hayes made this statement on the subject of his decision to leave the show: “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins.” Chef was killed in the show to explain the departure of Hayes’s distinctive voice.

The cause of death remains unknown and no memorial plans for Hayes have been announced. And though Hayes and Chef have sung their very last note, I would like to believe that somewhere, in a little town called South Park (and syndication), Hayes-as-Chef lives on…and he still croons love songs to the ladies.