Released in the fall of 1973, Joy is the most erotic of all Isaac Hayes albums. It was also his first non-soundtrack album to be made up entirely of original compositions. The title track, which runs nearly 16 minutes, is a mesmerizing masterpiece of strings and horns swirling and Hayes rapping seductively over a funky vamp--a style pioneered by Hayes that had a huge impact of the similarly symphonic soul sounds of Barry White. An edited version of the song rose to No. 7 on Billboard's r&b chart, while the album itself peaked at No. 16 on the magazine's list of best-selling pop LPs.