Roy Ayers, Jazz-Funk Musician Behind ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine,’ Dies at 84
Roy Ayers, the jazz-funk vibraphonist known for the album Everybody Loves the Sunshine which has been sampled countless times since it was released, has died. He was 84.
Ayers died Tuesday in New York after a long illness, his family announced in a statement, describing him as “highly influential and sought after as a music collaborator.”
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Ayers was a pioneer of the jazz-funk movement, and he was well-known for neo-soul, acid jazz and rhythm and blues as well. He released dozens of albums over the course of his career, beginning with West Coast Vibes in 1963. His biggest hit, Everybody Loves the Sunshine, came in 1976 from his group, Roy Ayers Ubiquity. His songs have since been sampled by artists including Mary J. Blige (“My Life”), A Tribe Called Quest (“Bonita Applebaum”) and Junior M.A.F.I.A. (“Get Money”). He also released collaborations with such artists as Guru, Fela Kuti, Rick James and the Roots.
In 2016, Pitchfork ranked the title track of Everybody Loves the Sunshine as one of the 200 top songs of the 1970s. “This was not a song that was trying to hide, though it’s nimble enough that it could,” the outlet wrote.
Ayers was born in Los Angeles in 1940. He first learned about the vibraphone after seeing Lionel Hampton’s Big Band when he was 5 years old, and later learned the instrument after receiving one as a gift at 17. As a child, Ayers also sang in church choir and learned the piano before studying music theory at Los Angeles City College and eventually signing his first contract with United Artists in the early ’60s.
In 1973, Ayers wrote and produced the soundtrack for blaxploitation action flic Coffy, which starred Pam Grier. His final solo album, Mahogany Vibe, came in 2004 and featured collaborations with Wright, Kamilah and Erykah Badu. In 2015, he appeared on Tyler, the Creator’s “Find Your Wings” and then performed at the rapper’s Camp Flog Gnaw in 2017. In 2020, he released Roy Ayers JID002, a collaborative album with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.
Ayers is survived by his wife, Argerie, and their children, Mtume and Ayana Ayers. The family will announce plans for a celebration of life soon.
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