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Charles “Skip” Pitts, Shaft Guitarist and Soul Mainstay, Dead at 65

Charles "Skip" Pitts, Shaft Guitarist and Soul Mainstay, Dead at 65

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Charles “Skip” Pitts, the revered soul guitarist whose  iconic guitar riff for the “Theme from Shaft” helped make both the song  and its eponymous movie pop-culture touchstones, has died.

He was 65.

According to a rep for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Pitts passed  away in Memphis on Tuesday after a battle with cancer.

Pitts’ storied career was marked by his fertile, 40-year collaboration with Isaac  Hayes, whose band he joined in 1970.

Their work on the Shaft soundtrack signaled a definitive and  watershed moment in the blaxploitation film movement, pushing it to the  forefront of the pop consciousness and giving black filmmakers a foothold—and a  sound.

The Washington, D.C.–born musician began playing well before his teens and  was mentored by Bo Diddley, who was a neighbor.

Aside from his collaboration with Hayes, Pitts was also a session musician  for Stax Records and played alongside music greats including Al  Green, Sam & Dave and Wilson  Pickett.

His work with the Isley Brothers also produced another  iconic song, “It’s Your Thing.”

Pitts continued to be a prolific musician well into his final years. He and  his band, The Bo-Keys, released an album last year, and he also  performed on the soundtracks to Hustle & Flow, Black Snake  Moan and Soul Men.

 

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