isaac hayes first recorded the song for his 1971 album "black moses". released as a single, this version reached number five on the "billboard" r&b chart, number 19 on the easy listening chart, and number 22 on the hot 100. hayes re-recorded the tune for the soundtrack of the 2008 film "soul men", in which he appears alongside samuel l. jackson and bernie mac. the film's producers dedicated the 2008 version to both mac and hayes, who both died before the project was released.