Presenting Isaac Hayes is the debut studio album by American soul musician Isaac Hayes. The album was released in 1968, by Enterprise and Atlantic Records. The LP was the first release on Stax Records' Enterprise label; Hayes had for several years served as one of Stax's key songwriters, producers, and studio musicians.
"Precious, Precious", recorded as an eighteen-minute jazz piece, was edited to under three minutes for release as a single. Both the 45 and the album underperformed, and Hayes would only continue his recording career after Stax lost its entire backlog to Atlantic Records during the process of breaking away from Atlantic. The lack of material necessitated all Stax artists - Hayes included - to record albums for release, resulting in Hayes' successful and groundbreaking Hot Buttered Soul.[2]
Following Hayes' success with Hot Buttered Soul, Black Moses, and the Shaft soundtrack, Atlantic reissued Presenting Isaac Hayes under the title In the Beginning.
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