Fans and friends remember Hayes

About 3,000 fans and friends have attended a memorial service for soul singer Isaac Hayes in Memphis.

"He was a lovely man, always involved with causes," civil rights leader Rev Jesse Jackson said before the service.

Mr Jackson was among the speakers that also included civil rights leader Al Sharpton and actresses Anne Archer and Kelly Preston.

The performer was killed by a stroke after being found unconscious at his home on 10 August. He was 65.

The service began with a drum march and a video clip of Hayes and Jackson on stage together at a concert in Los Angeles in 1972.

Hip-hop influence

The clip featured Jackson pulling off Hayes' cap to reveal his signature shaved head, then Hayes slipping off his robe to show his red spandex trousers and chain vest.

Richard Roundtree, who starred in the 1971 movie Shaft, whose theme song was penned and performed by Hayes, attended the memorial, as did David Porter, Hayes' co-writer.

Rapper and record producer Doug E Fresh said outside the Hope Presbyterian Church that Hayes' music directly influenced rap and hip-hop.

"Hip-hop wouldn't be what it is without Isaac Hayes," he said.

Hayes, who won an Oscar in 1971 for the Shaft theme song and was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, was married four times and had 12 children.

His death prompted a wave of tributes from fellow musicians, including singer Gloria Gaynor, who called him "a gentleman and an extremely warm and talented artist".