Isaac Hayes, the pioneering singer-songwriter and musician died at his Memphis home yesterday. He was 65.

The soul legend was found by his wife lying unconscious next to his still running treadmill. Although the cause of death is yet unknown, family members believe a medical condition may have led to the incident citing that Mr. Hayes was being treated for "a number of medical conditions".

The star had a stroke in 2006, but despite sometimes noticeably shaky interviews and concert performances since then, he continued to act and to tour right up to his death.

Hayes became a soul music icon with his debut album, Hot Buttered Soul in 1969. His biggest hit, "The Theme From Shaft",with it's instantly recognisable wah-wah guitars, came two years later, won an Oscar and a Grammy and laid the foundations for disco later in the decade.

He had been one of the driving forces behind the success of the Stax record label, joining forces with lyricist Dave Porter to pen hits for the likes of Otis Reading and most notably Sam and Dave, for whom they wrote "Soul Man" and "Hold On! I'm A Comin".

He found an unexpected second wave of popularity and legions of new fans in later life as the voice of South Park's resident love god, Chef.

But his time on the show ended in acrimony after 11 years in 2006, when he quit saying the writers had gone too far in their now-notorious episode lampooning the Church of Scientology, to which Hayes belonged.

Hayes is survived by his fourth wife Adjowa, whom he met in Ghana while being named King of a region there. He had 12 children.

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