Songs in the Key of Nudity: Talkin’ About Shaft and Superfly

Every so often a nude scene gets paired with a song that, for better or worse, ends up making it that much more memorable, and the approach of summer means it’s time to celebrate the anniversaries of TWO films with infamous - or should we say skin-famous - soundtracks, the blaxploitation classics Shaft(1971) and Superfly (1972).

Both films were released in the summer of their respective years, both were scored by influential soul musicians (Isaac Hayes for Shaft and Curtis Mayfield for Superfly), and both soundtracks were critically lauded (the "Theme from Shaft" even winning Best Song at the Academy Awards.)

Another thing these two genre-defining flicks have in common - nudity! Duh, that’s why we’re here. Based on the detective novel by Ernest Tidyman, Shaft set the tone with a steamy shower scene featuring a soaring orchestra and the lily-white lady bubbles of Margaret Warncke.

Margaret Warncke Nude in Shaft

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The next year, Superfly improved on the formula with two nude scenes directed by Gordon Parks Jr. (son of Shaft director Gordon Parks). First, some T’n’A from Polly Niles as she lays in bed with Ron O’Neal’s Harlem cocaine dealer Youngblood Priest, then some boobs and booty from Sheila Frazier as she and Ron bump uglies in the bathtub to the sweet sounds of the aptly titled track “Give Me Your Love.”

Polly Niles and Sheila Frazier Nude in Superfly

The song comes in so subtly and stays underneath the splashes of lovemaking, while a scene like that today would have the music come blaring in like a bullhorn… which is kind of what happens during the threesome in the 2018 remake.

Shaft and Superfly combined music and nudity while simultaneously creating a whole new category of cinema, and it’s a feat that won’t soon, if ever, be forgotten.

Catch Up With Previous Editions of Songs in the Key of Nudity

—The White Stuff

—You're Gonna Love These Boobs