Play It Like ‘Shaft’
Performance instructions on sheet music usually involve formal Italian instructions or more familiar (yet generic) terms – softly, with gusto, etc. On one piece for “The Wiz,” the instructions were more direct.
“Play it like ‘Shaft’.”
And it’s a testament to the cultural impact of the writer and performer (not only with that song, but with his overall body or work and image) that there’s only one way to do that.
R.I.P., Mr. Hayes.